Pokemon: Keyblade Masters
by Auriansmule
Summary: Ash's world has been consumed by darkness. His world destroyed, he is thrust into an adventure he never thought possible, making lifelong friends and fierce enemies. Rated T to be safe. FateIntertwineShipping AshxAqua
1. Dive Into the Heart

**Disclaimer: I own nothing within this story.**

**Chapter 1 of Pokemon: Keyblade Masters**

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He was falling. He was falling through the sky, soaring past memories of his life... Meeting his friends... Encountering the legends of his world. Who is he you ask? He is none other than Ash Ketchem of Pallet Town.

'_What's... happening?_' Ash thought. He couldn't move whatsoever. Still... something kept him from panicking as though this was natural... Suddenly, he felt his head hit water. He continued to fall as though he was still soaring through the air. As he neared the rapidly approaching ground, he began to slow. Slowly his body righted itself.

Ash took a deep breath, surprised he could breathe at all. He looked down, he was standing on a strange black surface, all around there was nothing but darkness. He took one step and gasped as thousands of doves flew off, revealing a circular, stained-glass platform. Upon it lay an image of Misty surrounded by the ocean.

He looked around. "What... happened?" he asked the surrounding darkness. "Where am I?"

**Value friendship.**

**There is no time for being indecisive.**

**You must be strong.**

**Your path is set for you.**

**Your journey begins at the dead of night.**

Ash jumped a bit as he heard the bodiless voice. It sounded far-off and unclear.

Three pedestals appeared before him, each bearing an item.

The voice was gone. Ash sighed and looked at the items floating above the pedestals, wondering if he was meant to take one of them. He walked over to the first item he saw, a sword. "Wow..." he whispered. The blade felt perfectly natural in his hands. In fact it felt as though it was an extension of his arm. "It feels perfect."

**Power of the Warrior: Invincible Courage: The sword of terrible destruction. Do you accept this power?**

Ash stared at the blade and nodded. As soon as he did so, the sword disappeared and the pedestals suddenly fell through the glass, which caused it to break. With a startled cry, Ash fell down onto a different pedestal. This one was of Brock, leaning onto the side, mountains in the background.

**You have chosen the weapon of the warrior, you must now prove yourself in combat.**

Ash gasped as, suddenly, silvery-white creatures with unzipped heads began appearing around him. "What _is_ that?"

**You are in danger. What do you do?**

Ash reached for his pokemon out of reflex. He froze when he felt nothing clipped to his belt. '_What am I supposed to do?_' Ash thought frantically as the creatures approached him. Suddenly the same sword appeared in his hand. "The sword..." Ash whispered. "Then I'll face it head on!" Ash replied to the voice. Once again the sword felt natural in his hands... Somehow... he knew what he was doing...

Three of the enemies surrounded him. He had to fight them off. "I'll do what I can..." Ash muttered. He chose the one in front of him and charged, sword raised. "You're in my way!" he yelled as he approached the creature. He swung the blade, slashing through the creature. The strike stunned it and Ash continued his attack. He slashed again and finished with a stab. The creature disappeared in a shower of blue sparks. He felt something within him flare and quickly sidestepped a blow from behind. He skidded around the creature so fast it caused a blur. The creature looked around wildly, as did its comrade.

'_What was that?_' Ash thought as he rained combos on the creature before him.

**Reaction Command...**

'_Oh_," Ash thought. As the second creature was destroyed, Ash felt the third creature strike his shin with it's knife-like arm. Ash cried out in pain as he jumped back. The creature attempted another low blow, but this time, Ash was prepared. He jumped to avoid it. '_Whoa!_' Ash thought frantically as he jumped five times higher than normal. He ended up behind the creature and didn't waste any time in destroying it.

Suddenly semi-transparent stairs appeared before him. Ash waited, but the voice didn't come. He shrugged and went forward. The next pillar was of May kneeling in what seemed to be prayer. A forest was in the background. As Ash took a few steps, black shadows began forming and turned into 3D creatures. They were black with claws, antenna and yellow eyes. Ash started for a second before the sword appeared in his hand once more. He charged at the black beings and began raining combos on them. He found them moderately easier than the silver creatures.

More stairs appeared before him, he quickly climbed upwards and came to the next pillar. It was of Dawn laying on the grass. Shooting stars streaming in the night sky. There was only one thing on this station. A chest with a large keyhole on it. Ash approached it and impulsively tapped it with his sword. It opened, revealing a small bottle containing a greenish-blue substance. He read the label. 'Potion: Heals minor to moderate injuries. To use, toss into the air and say the name of target. If using on self, toss into the air and do NOT say a name.'

Ash shrugged he had taken a couple hits in the last few battles. A bruise or scratch here or there. He hesitantly tossed the potion into the air. He felt his injuries healing immediately. '_Wow_' Ash thought. '_That's amazing!_'

The floor suddenly shattered. Ash cried out in alarm as he fell downwards. He was surprised when he landed without harm. He looked around. This station was of a boy with spiky brown hair in a red jumpsuit that has shorts that goes a few inches under his knees, a grayish unzipped short hoodie, a crown necklace, white fingerless gloves, and big yellow shoes; Ash also noticed that the portrait has a duck being, a dog being, a boy with shoulder length hair, a girl with her hair that goes a few inches under her ears, a boy with spiky light colored hair, an older boy with dark spiky hair, and a girl with hair that just reaches her shoulders, plus the platform is colored blue and the boy has what appears to be a key-like sword that has a yellow guard around the hilt, and the key chain has the mouse head. The background on it is an island with a tree that has star shaped fruits.

**Your final task is now at hand... Now face your fiercest enemy...**

Ash looked around alarmed. He saw nothing but darkness. He looked behind him, and saw nothing but his own shadow... Wait... The shadow was getting larger! It suddenly grew two yellow eyes that glared hatefully at him. The shadow formed into an enormous figure with snake-like hair. Ash took a step back. '_My fiercest enemy is... myself?_'

**Don't be afraid...** Ash could actually distinguish the voice this time. It was distinctly female. A white light flashed in front of him. Floating there was a star shaped symbol attached to a string. Ash took the object. It was crimson in color and, though not made of anything fancy, was beautiful nonetheless. It reminded him of the fruit in the image of the station. **We are connected... Don't be afraid...**

Ash nodded, feeling assured and placed the charm around his neck, tucking it into his shirt. The sword once again appeared in his hand. The creature attacked. It sent a punch at him, which was dodged by Ash. The trainer took this opportunity to jump and strike its face. The monster roared in pain. It then began shooting what appeared to be missiles. Ash yelled and ran to avoid them. He rushed at the creature once more before raining combos on its face. The creature roared once more and punched him across the station. Ash cried out in pain.

**Almost there...**

Ash sighed in relief upon hearing that. Steeling himself once more, he charged at the beast. It sent one last punch his way, which was avoided. It roared upon contact with the blade. It stared at him for a few moments. Ash stared right back. Suddenly Ash felt himself sinking. He looked down and saw that he was sinking into darkness. Ash began panicking.

**You hold the mightiest weapon of all.**

He thrashed all around while the monster slowly faded away. The sword disappeared from his grasp. The darkness began consuming him

**So don't forget: Don't be afraid... I'm here.**

Darkness consumed him.

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*****Obtained High Jump*****

*****Obtained Good Luck Charm*****


	2. Darkness

**Chapter 2 of Pokemon: Keyblade Masters**

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Ash shot up. He was covered in cold sweat. He looked around wildly. He was in his room. Ash sighed, falling back into his pillow. "Just a dream..." he muttered. The sixteen year old looked out the window it looked to be about 9:00 AM. He sat up again and stretched. He froze when he felt something against his chest. He slowly reached down and grasped the object. He pulled it out and gasped. It was the same charm from his dream.

'_How did I get this?_' Ash thought incredulously. '_It... wasn't a dream?_' He held it up to eye level, it was gleaming beautifully in the sunlight. He squeezed the charms, bringing it closer to his chest and closed his eyes. He felt a presence within it. One of the presences approached him without hesitation, the other two seemed wary of him before approaching him as well. He smiled... it felt... nice... A knocking on the door snapped him back to attention.

"Ash, honey are you awake?" his mother asked. "Breakfast is ready!"

"Hold on mom!" Ash called back. Ash sighed as he tucked the charm back in his shirt and got dressed in his Sinnoh outfit. Pikachu was currently at the Lab resting along with all his other pokemon. Just yesterday they had returned from the Sinnoh region after Ash had come in second place at the Sinnoh League losing to Paul. They had fought hard, however, and Ash couldn't be prouder of his pokemon even though Paul had insulted them calling him the most pathetic trainer in the world. Many of his friends had called to congratulate him on doing so well and to not listen to what Paul said. Brock had gone back to Pewter City while Dawn stayed in Twinleaf Town. It had been hard to say good-bye but they promised to see each other again.

Ash quickly descended the stairs and into the kitchen still wondering about the charm. As always, his mother had a large breakfast layed out in front of him and as always he gorged himself, forgetting about the charm completely. Upon finishing Ash leaned back in his chair with a satisfied sigh. "Great as always, mom!" Ash told her.

"Thanks you, honey." Delia Ketchem said smiling. "What are you going to do today?"

"I think I'll spend the day at the Lab." Ash replied thoughtfully.

"Okay, have fun!" she waved him off. Ash smiled at her before leaving his home and walking down the path to Professor Oak's laboratory. Ash decided not to bother the Professor and just went around out back. He hopped over the fence and went off to find his pokemon.

* * *

Around dusk Ash decided to head home. Pikachu and the rest of the pokemon waved him off as he left. Once he arrived home he headed straight upstairs. He felt extremely tired.

'_I guess that's what happens when I spend all day playing._' Ash thought as he lay down. '_I'm not a kid anymore._' It was true. Ash had grown quite a bit on his journey. He now stood at a height of 5 feet 11 inches. He had filled out nicely as well. He was fairly muscular, he wasn't a body builder, but he certainly had a runner's body. '_Can't call me a shrimp anymore, Misty._' Ash thought smugly. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He fell into a deep sleep.

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Ash suddenly shot up. He looked outside, everything was shrouded in darkness, an unnatural darkness. '_What's happening?_' Ash thought. He quickly rushed out of his house. There were no lights on anywhere. The streets were dead silent. Suddenly the shadows began moving. They formed into the same creatures that were in his dream. '_Those things again!_' Ash thought panicking. They quickly surrounded him.

"Get away from me!" Ash shouted. The continued advancing. He saw a long stick in the corner of his eye. Ash made a dash for it, quickly scooping it up. One of the creatures lunged at him. He quickly slashed at it, only for the stick to phase through the creature. The creature slashed him with it's claws, thankfully it was only a minor wound. '_This doesn't work!_' Ash despaired. '_What am I supposed to do?_'

He tried focusing on the sword from his 'dream'. Suddenly the stick was enveloped by a bright silver light. Ash closed his eyes to the glare. The creatures shrank back, startled. Ash opened his eyes and did a double take. '_Wha- What?_' In his hands were two strange weapons. The one in his right hand was white and blue, it had two white angel wings for a guard, its shaft held two hearts, and the teeth of the blade were designed into the Kanji for 'hikari' which means light. A keychain with the a star that resembled the charm he received in his dream was attached to the pommel. In his left hand was a vaguely similar weapon. The hilt guard is comprised of two black bat-like wings extending downward. The shaft was deep black and the teeth were designed into the Kanji for 'yami' which meant darkness. The key chain was a black crown. They were both weapons of beauty in their own regard.

Ash felt the strange presences from before, suddenly he didn't feel so alone anymore. He felt his confidence surge. Ash had no more time to think, as the creatures began attacking. He slashed at two different creatures at the same time, both disappearing with one blow. He twirled around and slashed at two more that were approaching. He then spun in a full circle, striking all within range of his weapon. Within no time the creatures were gone. Ash looked at the weapons again. '_The mightiest weapon of all?_'

**The Keyblade.** It wasn't the same voice as his dream. In fact it sounded more like... a memory.

'_ Key... blade?_' Ash was about to think more when he suddenly saw more of the shadows forming. He looked around, he was surrounded once again, but not by a small group. There were far two many. Ash swung his Keyblades at the nearest ones, destroying them. He twirled them around and leapt at another. It was strange, it felt as though he knew everything about fighting with them. He spun in a circle, destroying all of the creatures around him. Slash. Stab. Slash. Repeat. He suddenly felt a weight on his back and saw one of the creatures had leapt on him. He threw it off only to have another take its place. It appeared that single moment of letting his guard down cost him, soon every one of them were jumping on him until he was forced to the ground. The creatures became shadows once again and began drawing him in. He saw everything around him turning into darkness. Soon he was engulfed in nothing but darkness.

'_No..._' Ash thought. He reached out to the darkness. The last thing he was aware of before losing consciousness was a soft hand gripping his as he began glowing gold.

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** ***Obtained Oathkeeper*****

** ***Obtained Oblivion*****


	3. Aqua

**A/N: Please let me know if the explanations are wrong and I will correct them.**

**Chapter 3 of Pokemon: Keyblade Masters**

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He was back. When Ash awoke, he found himself atop yet another pillar. The pillar was similar to the last, only this time, he was in the place of the brown haired boy. Said boy was now in one of the the circle images.

"What's going on?" Ash asked frustrated. Was he dreaming again? Had the whole thing been a dream? What about those creatures? It all seemed so real.

"That's because it _is_ real." a familiar voice said. Ash spun around, before him stood a pretty blue haired girl around his age. Ash looked at her suspiciously.

"Who are you?" Ash demanded. "And what's happening to me?" She smiled at him.

"My name, is Aqua." she told him. "And you're currently asleep right now."

Ash blinked. "So... I'm dreaming?" he asked. "None of this is real?"

She shook her head. "Just because you're dreaming doesn't make this any less real." she told him. "This place," she gestured around them. "is your heart."

"My heart...?" Ash asked confused. "Wait... you're that voice from my dream!" he realized.

Aqua nodded and smiled. "Yes, I'm the one that helped you during your Awakening."

"My Awakening?" Ash asked.

"It's the trial that all Keyblade wielders must go through."

"Keyblade..." Ash breathed. He looked down and summoned the weapons. Aqua's eyes widened.

"Two...?" she shook her head. "Amazing... you really are the Chosen One."

"How do you know that?" Ash asked her, dismissing his Keyblades. She shook her head.

"A man in a red cloak told me." she said. "He was the one that helped me first contact you."

"What was his name?" Ash asked, unnerved slightly. Again she shook her head.

"He didn't tell me." she smiled at him again. Ash realized something. He was wearing different clothing! His current clothes consisted of a black zip up hoodie with white trims. There was a strange silver badge over his hearts. He wore dark gray cargo shorts along with black and white sneakers. His hat was gone, allowing his messy hair to fall free. On his left arm he saw what appeared to be silver armor that extended from the shoulder to the elbow.

"You know, I'm not even going to ask why I'm wearing different clothes..." he muttered. Aqua still heard him, however, and giggled.

"You see that armor?" she said, pointing at his shoulder. Ash nodded. "Touch it." Ash complied, and he was enveloped by a silver light. When Ash opened his eyes again he found he was looking through a visor.

"Whoa!" Ash cried. He looked at himself and found he was wearing full body armor. It was silver with white trims. "What is this?"

"It's a special type of armor given to apprentices from their masters." Aqua informed him. "That armor will protect you from darkness as you travel between worlds and allows you to breathe in space."

"Whoa, whoa whoa!" Ash yelled. "Worlds? Space? What are you talking about?" Aqua grimaced.

"Those creatures you fought in you world are called the Heartless." she said. "Heartless are peoples' hearts that have been corrupted by darkness, lacking a body or soul.."

"So... they came out of the residences' hearts?"

She shook her head. "No, they were after _you_."

"Me?" Ash yelped. "Why?"

"The Heartless fear the Keyblade." she said. "They were after _your_ heart."

"The Keyblade...?" she nodded. "What is the purpose the the Keyblade? Why was I given mine?"

"The Keyblade chooses it's wielder by the strength of their heart." Aqua said. "The wielder's duty is the protect the worlds."

"So I was chosen to be the worlds' guardian?" she nodded again. "Just how many worlds are there?"

Aqua shrugged. "Many, I don't think anyone knows for sure?"

"And I have to protect them all?" Ash cried. She raised her hands, signaling him to calm down.

"Calm down, there are others who wield the Keyblade." she assured him.

"Really?" she nodded and raised her right hand. In a flash of light a gray Keyblade with a simple square guard and teeth in the shape of an 'E' appeared. "Y- you?" she grinned at him. "Wait, you said that this armor is given by a master so...?"

"Yep, Master Aqua, at your service!" she winked at him with a mock salute. "There are some wielders who have special abilities. Like you."

"Really?" Ash asked surprised. "How am I special?"

She shook her head again. "I don't know. Only you can figure that out."

Ash sighed. He blinked. "Hey, er, Master Aqua, how do I revert to my other clothes?"

"Just touch the same spot as before." Ash did so and was relieved to be out of the armor. It was lightweight and he could move around just fine, but it was certainly uncomfortable. "And just call me Aqua. I hate going by my title." Ash nodded at her.

"Aqua, if we're in my mind/heart right now, where's my body?" Ash asked her, sitting down.

"It's being taken to a different world." she answered sitting next to him. "I don't know by who, but they don't seem hostile."

"Where are _you_?" Ash asked. She smiled sadly.

"I'm trapped in the Realm of Darkness."

Ash started. "The Realm of Darkness?" he asked. He wasn't exactly sure what that was, but it certainly didn't sound _good_. "How did you get there?"

"I took my friend's place." she said simply. "He was falling into darkness, and I saved him. Now I'm here."

"Can't you get out?" She shook her head.

"I can't, and refuse to wield the power of darkness." she said.

Ash nodded slowly. "So, how are you here?"

She grinned and pulled something out. Ash gasped. It was the exact same charm he had, only blue. "We're connected."

Ash pulled his out. "So, this let's you talk to me?"

She nodded. "But only in your dreams."

"Aqua...?" she looked at him curiously. "I'll get you out." She smiled sadly.

"Ash..." She shook her head, laughing. "Thank you." She laid back and stared out into the darkness. "I don't know how long I've been here. It feels like I've been here forever."

He looked up, determined. "I'll get you out of the Realm of Darkness." he said. "I swear."

She looked at him. "I'll be waiting." She suddenly sat by up. "Looks like it's time for you to wake up."

"What?" Ash asked startled. He was starting to get used to Aqua. He found her pressence to be... comforting. Suddenly everything started fading away. "Aqua!"

"Don't worry." her voice said, faintly. "We'll see each other again soon."

"Aqua!" Ash repeated.

"We are connected..."

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**A/N: Again any mistakes will be corrected once pointed out.**

**Should Ash have a Nobody? Should it be a part of Organization 13, making it Organization 14? Or an unofficial member? **


	4. Twilight Town

**Chapter 4 of Pokemon: Keyblade Masters**

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"_Ash_!" an unfamiliar voice echoed in the back of his head. "_It's time to wake up._"

'_Who's there?_' Ash thought. The haziness in Ash's head began lifting, as light flooded his vision.

"Gawrsh, you think he's okay?" a different, concerned voice said. Ash was confused.

"I don't know." another voice said. This one definitely sounded strange. Ash groaned as he slowly opened his eyes.

"Hey!" the first voice exclaimed. "He's wakin' up!"

"Who's... there?" Ash asked groggily. After his vision cleared he saw a very strange sight. Before him stood... a dog and a duck. The dog... thing was wearing a green turtleneck, yellow pants and a hat. The duck was wearing a blue vest and hat, with no pants, but it appeared he didn't need any.

"The name's Goofy." the dog said cheerfully. Goofy pointed at the duck behind him, who had his arms crossed and was tapping his foot impatiently. "And that's my friend, Donald Duck."

"I'm Ash Ketchum." the boy responded. He looked around. They were in some sort of basement, and surrounded by some kind of pods. "Where are we?"

"We don't know." Donald responded. "We just woke up and found you in one of those pod things."

"Yeah, but we have to find our friend Sora!" Goofy said. "Why don't you come with us, Ash?"

Ash considered this. He had no idea where he was, and these... people were offering him their company. "Why not?" Ash said, smiling weakly.

"Great!" Goofy said wrapping an arm around him, helping him up. "I'm sure we'll be friends in no time!"

Donald rolled his eyes in annoyance, but the small smile on his face gave him away. "Anyway, where do you think our friend Sora could be?" the duck asked.

Ash looked around. All the other pods were empty. He saw a door at the end of the hall. "Maybe he's in there." he said pointing at it.

"Well, let's check it out!" Goofy said running towards the door. The others followed and the door slid open to reveal a white room, a single large pod in the center. Ash walked up the the pod and red a small panel.

"It says that this pod contains Sora!" Ash called back. Donald and Goofy nodded.

"Sora!" Donald yelled.

"Sora!" Goofy shouted. "It's time to wake up!" The room suddenly began rumbling. The pod flashed white and began opening. Soon a boy with spiky brown hair, a red jumpsuit and ridiculously large banana yellow shoes.

Sora yawned and stretched then blinked sleepily, causing them to snicker which caught the boy's attention. Upon seeing the two Sora jumped out of his pod and hugged them, landing sloppily. "Donald! Goofy!" he said happily. They held hands and jumped around in a circle, laughing.

A green cricket wearing a tiny suit jumped onto Sora's shoulder and yawned. "Wow, that was some nap." the cricket then jumped onto the floor. Sora looked at the cricket in disbelief.

"You mean... we were asleep?" he asked.

The cricket clutched his head dizzily. "I guess we musta been, or I don't think we'd be so drowsy..." the cricket yawned. He seemed to finally notice Ash.

"Oh... and who might you be?" the cricket asked curiously.

"That's Ash." Goofy said. "We found him asleep in a pod, like you were Sora! He's our new friend!"

"Well, nice you meet you, Ash." the cricket said kindly. "I'm Jiminy Cricket." he bowed.

"And I guess you already know, but I'm Sora!" Sora said, poking himself in the chest.

"It's nice you meet you all." Ash said politely.

"So uh, what did we do last?" Goofy asked his friends. Ash stayed silent. Donald put his chin in his hand while Sora crossed his arms. "Let's see..." the boy muttered. "we defeated Ansem..."

"Yep." Goofy nodded.

"restored peace to the world... found Kairi..." Sora continued. "Oh yeah, and then we went to look for Riku. I think that's right so far?" he asked the others. Ash was even more confused.

"Then what?" Donald asked. Sora crossed his arms again.

"What does your journal say, Jiminy?" Goofy asked the cricket. Said cricket pulled out a tiny journal.

"Gee, there's only one sentence..." Jiminy said in disbelief. "_Thank Naminé" _the cricket read to them. "Hmm... I wonder who that is?"

They all looked at each other and shrugged, not knowing who this 'Naminé' was. Donald glared at Jiminy. "Some journal that is."

Jiminy blushed and rubbed that back of his head. "Eh... What do ya say we find out where we are!"

"Let's go!" Sora said.

Ash nodded. "Yeah." He suddenly smirked. "So long as Sora can keep from tripping over his shoes!"

"Hey!" Sora cried while the others laughed at his indignant face. "Why does everyone always make fun of my shoes?"

* * *

The quartet arrived in town after getting lost several times in the mansion. After some exploration of the town they made their way into an alleyway. As they neared the entrance to some hidden area, the bell of the clock tower rang, making Sora stop and looked around.

"What's wrong, Sora?" Donald asked.

"You know, I think I've been to this town." Sora said quietly. Ash looked around as well.

"You're right..." Ash said. "This place looks familiar."

"What's it called?" Donald asked curiously. Ash shook his head and shrugged.

"Hmm." Sora muttered. "Guess... I must've imagined it." he shrugged as they headed into the hidden area. As they entered they saw a blonde boy, and two brunettes. A boy and a girl.

"What do you want?" the blonde boy glared at them. '_What's with the hostility?_' Ash thought.

Sora raised his hands in defense. "Uh, nothing!" Sora rubbing the back of his head. "Just wondering what was back here."

"Well now you know, this is our spot." the blonde boy responded coldly.

"Look, what's your problem?" Ash asked irritably. The brunette boy walked up to them and looked at Sora and Ash strangely. "What?" Ash asked confused at his behavior.

"Oh nothing," he replied. "Are you guys new here?" I'm Pence."

The blonde walked up to them. "Hayner, sorry I'm just in a bad mood. Nice to meet you, but we've got stuff to do so, catch ya later." he said walking off. Pence looked at his retreating back in exasperation. The girl walked up as well.

"My name's Olette." she said cheerfully. "Hey, did you finish up the summer homework yet? Independent studies are the worst, huh?"

"Eh... homework?" Ash said nervously. He looked back at the others, who just shrugged.

"Hey, what're your names?" Pence asked curiously.

Goofy jumped. "Oh, sorry." he began pointing at his companions. "We're Sora, Ash, Donald, and Goofy."

Sora nodded. "Hey there." Pence and Olette looked at each other before looking back to them.

"Sora, Ash, Donald, Goofy." Olette said. "We _just_ met someone who was looking for you."

Ash blinked. "Me?" Pence nodded.

"He sure seemed in a hurry." Pence said. "He had a black coat on so I couldn't see his face, but he had these big round ears!" he finished placing his hands on his head in imitation.

Sora, Donald and Goofy thought for a moment. Something popped into Donald's head. "The King!" he exclaimed.

"King?" Ash asked. They nodded at him.

"Guess he knows you too, Ash!" Goofy said with a thumb up.

"Where did you see him?" Sora asked.

"At the station." the girl responded. Sora grinned.

"The station!" he repeated. "Thanks!" They nodded at him.

"Well, we'd better get back to that assignment." Olette said sending Ash a wink, before walking off.

"Later!" Pence waved at them, before running to catch up to his friend.

"Oh boy!" Donald exclaimed happily. "The King's trying to find us!"

"Why would he be looking for _me_?" Ash asked them. They thought for a moment before shrugging.

"Whatever it is, it must be important!" Goofy said. Sora nodded.

"Yeah!" he agreed. "Let's get to the station!"

* * *

As the quartet approached the station, Ash saw a sign above the entrance. "Twilight Town Train Station." Ash read to them. The others looked up. "That sounds... familiar."

"Yeah..." Sora quietly agreed. Before they had any more time to think about it, Ash heard a very familiar sound. He looked behind them, and saw the silvery-white creatures that attacked him during his Awakening. "What are those things?" Ash asked.

Sora, Donald and Goofy ran up next to him. Donald pulled out a staff, Goofy a shield. Sora summoned a key-like sword out of nowhere.

'_A Keyblade..._' Ash thought. Sora made the first move as he dashed at the creatures with his Keybalde and slashed at them. Goofy began bashing them with his shield while Donald backed them up with some kind of electric attack. One of them made it past and rushed at Ash.

"Ash, look out!" Sora cried as they watch the creature attack. Ash raised his arms and deflected the attack with his newly summoned Keyblades. He twirled them around before quickly dispatching the creature. "No way...!" Sora said in shock.

"A Keyblade?" Donald shouted in disbelief.

"No, _two_!" Goofy said in awe. Ash smirked.

"Alright, who's next?" he challenged. The creatures charged at them again. Ash noticed that Sora used the shaft of the Keyblade to attack, while he himself used the teeth. This went on for about twenty minutes, but every time they destroyed one, another would take it's place. "There's too many of them!" Ash shouted as they were pressed back to back by the creatures. They were surrounded and exhausted. One of the creatures lunged at them and Sora raised his Keyblade desperately. Suddenly a small figure landed from above them and destroyed the creature. He continued destroying the others until there were none left. The quartet saw the figure's weapon was... a Keyblade.

"Your Majesty?" Donald shouted.

"Shh!" The King ordered. "You guys gotta board the train and leave town! The train knows the way." he pulled out the pouch and handed it to Sora. "You too, Ash." He noticed his weapons and smiled widely. "I knew you were special."

"I'm sorry, but how do you know me?" Ash asked confused.

"There's no time for that." he said hastily. Ash looked back to the others, then back to the King... only to find he was gone. Ash sighed.

"The King..." Sora said. "was that really him?"

"It coulda been..." Goofy said hesitantly. "Yep. I know it was!" he finished more certain.

"Now we know he's okay!" Donald said happily. Sora crossed his arms.

"The King was locked in the Realm of Darkness, right?" Sora asked. Ash looked at him sharply, remembering his promise to Aqua. Donald and Goofy nodded. "But... we saw him just now."

"Yep!"

"And if the King's here, that means Riku's here!" Sora exclaimed in realization.

"He's gotta be!" Donald said. Ash just sighed in confusion. "Sorry, Ash. We'll explain more later." Ash smiled weakly.

"Well, I'm gonna go look for Riku." Sora declared. "Then he and I can go back to the islands together. Kairi's there waiting for us! What are you guys gonna do?"

Donald and Goofy put on a face. "Gawrsh Sora, do you have to ask?" Goofy muttered. Sora laughed.

"Hey!" Donald said indignantly. "What's so funny?"

"Your face!" Sora laughed. The two looked at each other and burst out laughing. Ash laughed along with them. "What do you say, guys? Let's stick together for one more journey!" They nodded and turned to Ash. "What about you, Ash?"

Ash crossed his arms. "Well, I don't exactly know what's going on, but I have nothing else I can do." Ash shrugged.

"Great!" Sora grinned. "Welcome to the team, Ash!"

"Now we got two Keybladers!" Goofy said excitedly.

"Say, Ash?" Sora began. "How can you wield two Keyblades?"

Ash blinked. "You mean... that's not normal?" The shook their heads. "Well... the Kings said I was special... so maybe I am?" Ash said sheepishly. They sighed but nodded in acceptance of his answer.

"So..." Sora said with his hands behind his head. "where are we supposed to go?"

Ash rolled his eyes playfully. "The train, remember?"

"Oh yeah!" Sora said sheepishly. They all sighed at him. "Oh, c'mon!"

* * *

As they entered the station, Hayner, Pence, and Olette ran up behind them. "Wait up!" Hayner shouted. Ash, Sora, Donald and Goofy stopped in their tracks.

"What is it?" Sora asked confused.

"We came to see you off." Pence explained "It just... seemed like something we oughta do."

"Really?" Ash asked surprised. "Thanks!" He grinned at them. They grinned back. Sora walked over to the counter and pulled out the pouch the King had given them.

Olette gasped upon seeing it. "What is it?" Donald asked. Olette pulled a pouch that looked exactly the same. Everyone looked at it in surprise.

"They're the same!" Goofy exclaimed. Olette nodded. Sora glanced at them before shrugging.

"Four tickets please." the man behind the booth handed him the tickets before taking the necessary amount of money. Sora looked towards the train, a sad look on his face. "I can't help feeling like we won't see this town again..." Hayner, Pence and Olette looked at him in confusion.

"Why not?" Donald asked.

"You're thinkin' too much." Goofy assured. Ash scratched the back of his head. For some reason, he felt the same as Sora.

"Guess you're right." Sora agreed. Ash however, wasn't convinced.

"Okay!" Donald said. "Let's go!" He and Goofy hopped onto the train. Sora and Ash turned back to Hayner's gang.

"Bye." Sora said smiling.

"Hey Sora, Ash?" Hayner asked. "You sure we haven't met before?"

"Yeah." Ash said. He hadn't even left his own world before, after all. Sora thought about it.

"Positive." Sora responded. "Why do you ask?"

Hayner shrugged with a grin. "I dunno." Sora smiled as a tear fell down his cheek. Ash looked at him in concern. Sora wiped away his tear.

"Huh?"

"You okay?" Ash asked.

"Y- yeah, don't know where it came from." Sora explained while wiping his face.

Hayner chuckled. "Pull it together." Sora smiled embarrassed.

"Right... See ya!" as he boarded the train.

"Later." Ash said waving at them. They stared at him. "What?" Hayner chuckled.

"Not you too!" Ash looked confused. He felt his face and found moisture.

Ash blushed. "I guess... we just met, and we're already saying goodbye."

"You guys'll come back for a visit, won't you?" Olette asked hopefully.

"You bet we will!" Ash said. "No need to worry!" Ash said, stealing his dear friend's catchphrase. They smiled at him and waved goodbye as he boarded the train. They watched as the train doors closed and the train began moving out of the station.

* * *

**A/N: Oi that actually took longer than I expected.**


	5. Destiny's Course

**Chapter 5 of Pokemon: Keyblade Masters**

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* * *

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"Wow, you guys have been through a _lot_" Ash said weakly after the four of them had finished trading stories of their past adventures. Sora grinned at him.

"Yours was pretty cool too!" the brown haired boy said. "I'm sorry about your world though..." Ash nodded sadly. They had explained to him what the Heartless did to the worlds they entered and that his world was likely consumed in darkness by now. The train was suddenly covered in light once again as the train came to a stop. The side doors opened and the four walked out. Their eyes were glued to the large tower standing before them. As they moved away from the train Ash looked back in time to see it disappear in a flash of light.

"There goes our ride..." Sora said, laughing nervously. Ash just sighed, things could never be easy could they?

"Well, guess we only have one place to go now." Ash declared. The others nodded and with that they made their way to the tower, where they saw a large person looking through a crack in the door.

"What's going on?" Donald asked. The large figure laughed.

"I sent in some of my lackeys inside to see if the master of this here tower's as big and tough as they say." he told them. "Word is, he's a real powerful sorcerer; which would make him the perfect bodyguard for me. See, doesn't matter how tough he is- once he's a Heartless, he'll do as I say!" he finished, still not looking at them.

They started at that. "Heartless?" Ash repeated as they got into fighting stances.

The large figure nodded and continued. "That's right. They're the things that come out of the darkness in folk's hearts. Why, with all those Heartless at her side, my dear friend Maleficent is gonna conquer everything! And since I've got me a dept to pay, I'm going to make an army of Heartless, special for her!" He paused, _still_ not looking at them. "Aw, why am I talking to you pipsqueaks anyway? Go on, scram! I'm behind schedule as it is!" Ash scratched the back of his head as he and the others looked at each other.

"You oughta find somethin' nicer to do." Goofy suggested

The figure turned around, revealing himself to be a cat-like being. "Oh yeah? Says who?" His eyes widened comically upon seeing them. "Wha... AAAH! It's _you_!" he exclaimed angrily.

Donald and Goofy's eyes widened at the sight of him. "Pete?" they exclaimed. Ash and Sora looked at him.

"What're you two nimrods doing here?" Pete demanded, pointing at them.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Donald shot back.

"You know this clown?" Ash asked jerking his thumb at Pete. Causing him to glare at Ash angrily.

Goofy nodded. "We sure do!" he exclaimed. "Pete's been causin' trouble for ages! His magesty banished him to another dimension a long time ago. I wonder how he escaped."

Pete laughed, looking smug. "You wanna know how, eh?" he asked. "Well, Maleficent busted me out, that's how! And now your world- no, no. no, _all_ the worlds- are gonna belong to yours truly. Cause Maleficent's gonna help me conquer 'em!"

"Maleficent, huh..." Sora asked sarcastically as the quartet began to laugh.

"What are you laughing at?" Pete demanded. "Why, Maleficent's power is so great -" He was cut off by Ash.

"Sorry to break it to you but..."

"she's toast!" Sora finished for him as they grinned at each other.

"Sorry, but Maleficent can't help ya now." Goofy told him.

"Whaddaya mean?" Pete demanded as Donald chuckled. "You! So you're the ones that did it!"

"Well..." Sora said, putting his hands behind his head. "We might've had somethin' to do with it."

Pete began shaking with rage. "Grr... Heartless Squad! Round up!" he shouted to the sides of the stairs. Several black shadows appeared on either side of the stairs. Sora and Ash summoned their Keyblades as Goofy and Donald brandished their respective weapons. In no time the Shadows were all gone. Pete was furious after his minions were defeated so easily. "You just wait! Nobody, and I do mean nobody, messes with the mighty Pete!" he shouted at them angrily.

"So 'mighty' Pete," Sora said snickering. "who lives in his tower anyway?"

Pete seemed surprised before putting on a smug face. "Oh, you don't know, eh? Why it's old Yen Sid," he turned towards the tower. "Course he's probably a Heartless by now."

Donald did a huge double take. "Master Yen Sid lives _here_?" he asked in shock. He dashed to the large door of the tower and pushed it open before running inside.

"Master Yen Sid is the King's teacher," Goofy explained after seeing Sora and Ash's confused looks.

"Wow, sounds powerful!" Sora remarked as they all went in after Donald. Pete began jumping around in a temper tantrum after being ignored.

* * *

Upon entering, they were immediately in awe of the huge magical tower. "Master Yen Sid probably lives at the top." Ash reasoned. They nodded at the logic before proceeding up the stairs. After entering the first chamber they were immediately attack by Heartless. They took care of them easily as Ash began getting more comfortable with combat.

After the Heartless were defeated, they continued upward. However upon entering the second and third chambers they were again ambushed by the Heartless and Donald was getting fed up with it. "Heartless, Heartless, Heartless!" he complained. "Things haven't changed one bit!"

"Well, it's a good thing we're on the job, then." Goofy said, trying to be optimistic.

"So... the worlds aren't at peace after all?" Sora asked, looking disappointed. Ash sighed.

"Guess not..." They continued to the final floor. Ash and Sora entered last, looking around as Donald and Goofy saluted and bowed to the person sitting at the desk. Before them sat an old, but wise-looking old man in blue robes and a pointy hat, with stars on it. "Master Yen Sid!" Donald greeted. "It's an honor!"

"Hey there!" Sora acknowledged the wizard with a wave. Ash simply waved.

Goffy and Donald appeared appalled at their informality. "Sora! Ash! Show some respect!" Donald demanded. They two teens chuckled nervously, before hanging their heads.

Yen Sid waved their formality aside. "So, you are Sora and Ashton." he confirmed. "Now then, have you seen the King yet?"

Goofy nodded. "Yes we did, Master. But we didn't get a chance to talk to him."

Yen Sid nodded. "Yes... the King has been quite busy of late." he muttered. "Therefore, it would seem that the task of instructing you four falls upon my shoulders. You have a perilous journey ahead of you. You must be well prepared."

Sora blinked. "You mean... we have to go on _another _quest?" Sora asked. "I was looking forward to finding my friend Riku, so we could go back to the islands."

The old sorcerer nodded. "Yes. I know. However, everything in your journey, Sora, is connected. Whether you'll find your way back to the islands," he said. "whether you'll return alone or with you friend, and whether or not the islands will still be there. And the key that connects them all, is you, Sora."

"I'm... the key?" Sora repeated, pointing at himself. He held his hand out as the Keyblade appeared in a flash of light.

The old wizard nodded. "You are the key that will open the Door to Light." Sora nodded. Donald and Goofy nodded as well. Ash just sighed. Yen Sid chuckled at him.

"Not to worry, Ashton. You will understand completely soon enough." With a wave of his hand, a book appeared on the desk. "This book contains valuable knowledge that you will need on your journey. Study it carefully." The book floated over to their side of the desk and opened up. "Once you are ready, we will discuss the enemies that you will surely confront." They nodded and began to read:

_"The Beginning"_

_Each journey gives rise to chance encounters, and each encounter brings forth a farewell. When a farewell leads to a journey, the worlds open their hearts. Those chosen by the light, or ensnared by darkness. Friends who share the same bonds, though their paths may differ. When you doubt the path trod thus far, when the hand you held is lost to you, gaze anew at the heart that once was… for all the answers are within._

_"Interlude"_

_A long dream. A sad farewell, hanging in the air in that "world between." What is reality? What is illusion? The path chosen by the young boy leads to his memories. When caught in the stream of the days and nights going past, gaze anew at your steps… for there all confusion will end._

_"The Future Story"_

_Will the day come that this battle, born of confusion, will end? It is different things to different people. Can the reality be that which is hidden? The reason is mere existence. Still, memories can be believed. Be not afraid. Entrust your body to the soothing waves of your memories. By and by, your fleeting rest will be over… and everything will begin._

"But wait a sec..." Sora started. "Why are the Heartless still running around?"

"Your past endeavors did prevent an immense effusion of Heartless from the great darkness; make no mistake about that," Yen Sid assured them. "However, the Heartless are darkness made real- and darkness yet lingers in every heart. So long as darkness exists in a single heart, it will be difficult to eliminate them."

The four slunked their heads at that, then Goofy got an idea. "Gawrsh, that must mean… if everyone's heart was full of light, them Heartless'd disappear!" The others in the group agreed with that with a nod.

'_That's very unlikely though,_' Ash thought. '_There's darkness in every heart, like Master Yen Sid said_'

Yen Sid nodded. "Now it's time to speak of the enemies you will encounter." he said. With a wave of his hand, a beam of light appeared on the floor next to them. AN image of Donald appeared, making the real duck jump in surprise. The image suddenly transformed into a Shadow. "If one such as you, Donald, yields to the darkness in their heart, they too will become a Heartless. But you know this."

"Aww..." Donald sighed, annoyed at being used as an example.

"The Heartless are always lurking and ever seeking to capture new hearts." he continued. "Never let you guard down! Now then..." He waved his hand once more and an image of a silvery creature appeared next to the Heartless. "At times, if someone with a strong heart and will- be they evil or good- becomes a Heartless, the empty shell they leave behind begins to act with a will of its own." The Heartless image faded away. "An empty vessel whose heart has been stolen away... a spirit that goes on even as its body fades from existence - for you see, Nobodies do not truely exist at all. They may seem to have feelings, but this is a ruse - they only _pretend _to have hearts. You must _not_ be decieved!" he told the wide eyed quartet

"Nobodies..." Sora whispered. "They don't exist..." Suddenly two more Nobodies appeared next to the original.

"Now then... the being you see before you is know as a Dusk." Yen Sid told them. "They are the most common form of Nobody. The Nobodies can plan, while the Heartless act on instinct. They are a much more dangerous force, and they will all try do you harm." The images of the Dusks turned into three hooded figures. "Now these powerful Nobodies formed a group called Organization XIII. It commands the lesser Nobodies."

"Organization XIII…?" Sora muttered again, taking this all in. He asked Donald and Goofy if they ever heard of the group, but unfortunately they haven't.

"It seems that Organization XIII is working toward a goal, what that goal is I do not know…" Yen Sid said, shaking his head at the last part. The images disappeared, braking Ash out of his train of thoughts. "Now then, let's talk about your part in this journey, Ashton."

Donald looked at Ash, who turned to face the wizard. "Yeah, why are you here?" he asked.

"Ashton... it is your duty to find those who are lost..." Yen Sid said, looking at him meaningfully. Ash realized what he meant.

"Those... you mean, there are others?" Ash asked him. The old wizard nodded.

"One who is lost in darkness, one who has been consumed by it, and one who must have his heart returned to him." Yen Sid hinted. Sora, Donald and Goofy just looked between the two confused. "You must go with them, Ashton. Until you find what it is you search for." Ash nodded. "The King has sensed the dangers, found the Realm of Darkness' Keyblade, and journeyed forth to fight it. He went out, traveling from world to world, fighting the Heartless while trying to solve the riddle of the Nobodies and Organization XIII."

"Then the first thing we need to do is find him!" Sora figured. "He should know where Riku is, too. They were together when we closed the Door to Darkness. I mean, after we defeated Ansem."

Yen Sid gestured to the door beside them. "You'll need some new traveling clothes. Those look a bit too small." he said. Sora looked himself over, finding his clothes indeed were too small. "Through that door, you'll find three good fairies. If you ask, they'll make you new clothes."

"Yep, you sure are growing fast, Sora," Goofy said with a laugh.

"I guess so…" Sora said, then put his head behind his head and chuckled sheepishly

* * *

The quartet entered the next room where three small ladies are. One is red, one is green and the third one is blue. The things noticeable about them are small wings on their backs. The ladies are talking to each other when the quartet spotted them. "You guys, me, Riku and the King," Sora started to say, catching the other's attention. "I don't care what Organization XIII is planning, so with the six of us… I mean, the seven of us, we'll get though."

"Yeah!" Donald and Goofy agreed.

Ash glanced at the two, took a few steps forward and cleared his throat. It caught the fairies' attention. "Um… are you three the fairies that Master Yen Sid told us about?" He asked them.

"Why, yes we are young man," replied the red one. "You five must be Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Ash. My name is Flora." As Flora said the last part, she bowed like a lady whose been taught proper manners. She turned to the green one, "This is Fauna," then to the blue chubby one, "And this one is Merryweather."

"If you came for some new clothes, you've come to the right place," Merryweather said as she and Flora walked over to them.

"I'll do the designing," Fauna said cheerfully.

Flora and Merryweather walked over to Sora. Fauna used her wand, which made Sora's clothes turn green, to the others and Sora's amazement. "Oh! That will never do," Merryweather said, then she also used her wand to change Sora's outfit blue.

"Now girls!" Flora said as she did the same, turning Sora's clothes red. They began squabbling as they fought over whose color would look good on Sora.

Ash was getting irritated as was Sora. "Would you just _decide_?" they cried in unison.

The three fairies chuckled nervously at that. "Alright girls, and no more squabbling." The three fairies waved their wands and the three beams of colored light flew toward Sora. When they made contact with his clothes, a bright flash of light appeared, making the others to shut their eyes.

When the light died down, they opened them they were in awe. "Whoa!" Ash exclaimed at the sight of Sora's new clothes. Sora is now wearing a midnight blue short-sleeved shirt with red hoodie-like pockets on the front of his shirt under a black short-sleeved jacket with a hood with dark gray shoulder guards, black/yellow/white fingerless gloves, a black belt, big baggy yet short pants (that extended to the middle of his shins), and big yellow and black shoes. The big pockets on his pants were red and were supported by a few yellow straps that intersected his lower body.

"Oh my!" Flora said in awe as Sora looked over his new clothes, also in awe.

"What a charming outfit!" Merryweather complimented.

"Looks good!" Ash said with a thumb up. Flora turned to Ash.

"Would you like us to give you a new outfit as well, Ash?" she asked catching the others' attention.

"Nah, I'm good." Ash grinned, confusing his friends. "My outfit has a few tricks up its sleeve."

'_More like_ on_ its sleeve_' Ash thought to himself.

"Really?" Sora asked excited. "Like what?"

"You'll just have to wait." Ash chuckled. Sora looked away disappointed.

"Oh, and before we forget, Sora could you come over here for a second?" Fauna asked Sora. Sora walked over next to her. "Now those aren't ordinary clothes, dear." Flora informed the two. Both she and Merryweather waved their wands, which made an orb appear in front of him. "Now touch the orb, dear." Sora hesitantly touched the orbs and was absorbed into his body.

"And watch what happens!" Merryweather finished. Sora waited until his outfit burst into a shower of light. When the lights died down, Sora's outfit is now bright red and black. And he had another Keyblade with star designs on it. "Whoa!" Sora exclaimed at the sight of the other Keyblade. "Alright, now I can use two, like Ash!"

The fairies turned to Ash. "Is it true, dear." Flora asked in shock. "Can you really use two naturally?" Ash nodded and summoned Oathkeeper and Oblivion. "You truly are something special, dear." she said shaking her head.

"So I've heard..." Ash muttered. The fairies didn't seem to hear him.

"This journey will be twice as difficult as your last." Merryweather warned them, causing Sora, Donald and Goofy to slump over.

"Your garments also have other powers," Flora told Sora. "but you will have to discover what they are as you continue on your journey."

Sora nodded, still grinning over his new power. "Okay, I'll do my best." he said happily as his clothes reverted back to normal. "And thanks a lot!"

"Oh, and there's something else for you!" Fauna remembered suddenly. "From Master Yen Sid."

"Oh boy!" Donald exclaimed excitedly.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Ash asked grinning. He dismissed his Keyblades, as did Sora. "Let's go!"

* * *

As they walked into the Sorcerer's Loft, they saw Master Yen Sid looking out of a window. He spotted the four and gestured them over. They walked over to him and spotted a large orange and yellow ship floating outside.

"Hey!" Donald exclaimed. "It's the Gummi Ship!"

"Sweet!" Ash cheered. "You guys ready to go?" The four of them looked at each other before stepping into a line and looked at the wizard. "Now, now just a moment!" he interrupted them, making them fall over. "Because of your previous endeavors, the worlds have returned to their original states. That means the pathways between them have disappeared." he said as they picked themselves up.

They four of them hung their heads. "How do we get around?" Donald asked.

"Do not fear." Yen Sid said. "If what the King suspected proves true, the worlds have prepared new pathways along which you may travel. These pathways may be utilized by unlocking special gates. How these gates are opened, I'm afraid I do not know... However, the Keyblades will serve as your guides. When a beam of light radiates from the Keyblades, return to the Gummi Ship. Though the worlds may seem far apart and out of reach, they nonetheless remain connected by invisible ties. As do our hearts."

"Our hearts are... connected." Ash repeated as he absentmindedly touched his good luck charm hidden unter his jacket.

"That is correct, Ashton." Yen Sid smiled at him knowingly.

Sora nodded. "Got it."

"But be warned!" Yen Sid said. "As you proceed... The Heartless and the Nobodies will be using their own paths: Corridors of Darkness, to travel from world to world. They may be attempting to link these dark pathways to the gates between worlds."

"Hey!" Donald complained. "That's not fair!"

"Now then, Ashton." Yen Sid said as the four of them turned towards the Gummi Ship once more. They looked at him in anticipation. "Remember, so long as there is something left to restore..." he trailed off. They leaned in to hear what he had to say. "That is all the information I can give to you." he said, turning back to his desk. They all fell over.

"Seriously?" Ash muttered, rubbing the back of his head. They snickered at him.

"Go forth, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Ashton!" he instructed them. "Everyone is waiting."

They all nodded and snapped to attention. "Master Yen Sid!" Donald declared.

"We sure to appreciate the help." Goofy finished as they all saluted him, then ran out the door. Ash looked back just in time to see Yen Sid disappearing in a flash of light…

* * *

"WHAT'S THAT?" Merryweather shouted as the three fairies looked out the window. A crow, cawed at them then he flew to them with a black cloak in its claws. As soon as it landed on the ground, the crow flew away leaving the cloak behind.

The three fairies looked at the cloak. To them, it looked oddly familiar. "Have we seen this before?" Fauna asked, staring at the cloak.

"It looked awfully familiar," Flora said as they looked at the cloak some more.

Merryweather gasped when she realized something. "Malefi-" She began to say, but caught herself and closed her mouth.

"No, no, we mustn't remember her name," Flora told Merryweather. "Oh dear…"

"She sure is a mean old witch," Merryweather said then held her head as she realized something. "Oh no, the memories are coming back! What do we do? Oh, what do we do?"

The cloak started to move and began to rise. The fairies became worried. "We must tell Master Yen Sid," Fauna said the others.

"Yes, that's what we must do!" Flora said in agreement. She and Fauna ran to the door and disappeared in sparkly light.

Merryweather was left behind, watching in horror as the cloak continued to rise and took form of a being the fairies never wanted to see again. "Maleficent!" Merryweather cried, then ran to the door and disappeared in the same fashion as Flora and Fauna.

Maleficent, a woman with green skin, horns at the top of her head, purple eye shadow that goes from the top of her eyes to under her eyebrows, a black robe with some purple on it, and an olive green scepter with a green orb on top; looked around her surroundings. She began to chuckle and laughed the traditional evil laugh…

* * *

**A/N: I would like to clear something up. Donald and Goofy did NOT know Ash before he met them in Twilight Town. Only the King did, but not personally. Look back to the first few sentences in chapter 4.**

**About Ash using the teeth to fight, there isn't exactly a 'blade' on the Keyblade. It has a hilt, a guard, a shaft and teeth. Him using the teeth will have SLIGHT significance later on.**

**I'm also open to any suggestions from you guys, so give me ideas on what you would like to see, and I'll see if I can make it work.**


	6. Organization XIII

**Chapter 6 of Pokemon: Keyblade Masters**

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* * *

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Ash was grinning nonstop as he watched the stars fly by in the cockpit of the Gummi Ship. "Awesome..." he said simply. "I can't believe this is all happening."

"I know," Sora said as he piloted the ship. "I thought the same when I first started, it never gets old though."

"Glad you're enjoyin' the view." Goofy said, clapping him on the back. The four of them turned towards the front and saw a single world on a path.

"Only one?" Sora asked in annoyance.

"That's no good!" Donald agreed angrily.

"Wait!" Good called, pointing. "I think it's a world we know!"

"Well then," Ash said. "Let's check it out!"

* * *

Upon landing, the quartet walked out of an alley and looked at a worn down castle that appeared to be under reconstruction. "It's Hollow Bastion!" Sora exclaimed. Ash looked at him then back at the castle.

"It fits..." Ash muttered.

"Gawrsh, it sure looks different now." Goofy noted. The others, excluding Ash, nodded.

"I hope Leon and the others are okay." Donald said. Goofy, however was looking at the roofs in concern.

"Uh oh, looks like we're gonna have to do some fightin'." he said, pointing out a pair of Soldier Heartless just as they disappeared. They others sighed as they began walking down the stairs. As they restocked their supplies, they met Donald's three nephews. Huey, the one in a red shirt and baseball cap, Dewey, the one in a blue shirt and baseball cap, and Louie, the one in a green shirt and baseball cap. They were very kind when they introduced themselves to Ash.

They got the supplies they needed and made their way to the exit of the small market place until they saw an old duck with a hat like Jiminy's but black with a red strap, some sort of shirt that's blue with red at the collar and cuffs, has a cane and some sort of red straps at the bottom of his feet; he is also holding an ice cream in his left hand. Donald instantly recognized him. "Uncle Scrooge?" He exclaimed in surprise, receiving odd looks from Sora and Ash.

"Er… who?" Sora asked in confusion.

"Scrooge is Donald's uncle and a business typhoon." Goofy answered. "Before the Heartless showed up, he traveled the worlds on a Gummi Ship with the King. He was helpin' to set up a traffic system."

"A transmit system!" Donald corrected in annoyance, making Sora and Ash laughed.

"What's all the racket?" the old duck demanded in a Scottish accent. He turned and spotted them. "Why, if it isn't Donald and Goofy, hello lads! Aye, you all look hale and hearty!"

"So do you, Uncle Scrooge." Donald said politely.

"Ah, if only I were..." he said wistfully. "I canna seem to recreate my favorite old-time ice cream. Id' make millions if I just got it right!" he took a lick of the ice cream in his hand and grimaced. "Terrible...!" he sighed and turned back towards the cooler.

Ash looked towards the others and shrugged. The four of them made their way down the stairs, when they got to the bottom they looked around and something flash before them, surprising them. It continued to flash around them in a random manner. "Hey, what's going on?" Donald demanded.

"That's the town's defense mechanism," a girl's voice replied from nowhere. They all looked up and saw a girl around the age of eighteen. She had short black hair and brown eyes and wore a black sash on her forehead, a black tank top and tiny brown shorts.

Sora, Donald and Goofy seemed to recognize her. "Yuffie!" Sora exclaimed.

'_The ninja master?_' Ash asked himself. Yuffie smiled at them before letting out a gasp.

"Look out!" Sora jumped back just in time, as a Dusk appeared out of nowhere and attacked him. Donald and Goofy whipped out their weapons.

"Surrounded..." Ash muttered as he got into a ready stance.

"Hey, Ash!" Sora's voice broke his thoughts. "Can we see what your clothes do now?" he asked excitedly.

"It's not that big a deal, Sora." Ash said, annoyed.

"Oh, just show us already!" Donald demanded impatiently.

"Fine!" Ash growled as he grasped the armor on his shoulder. His clothing began glowing gold. The four of them (Sora, Donald, Goofy and Yuffie) covered their eyes as the Dusked jumped back. As they opened their eyes Ash stood there, clad from head to toe in silver and white armor. Ash opened his eyes, locking onto the Nobodies. He summoned his weapons and charged at them. The Dusks fell easily, going down in only a few strikes. More began appearing and Ash growled. Suddenly his Keyblades began glowing. Ash suddenly found himself sitting on some sort of black and white hoverbike.

'_What is this?_" Ash thought frantically. He leaned to the left, dodging a Dancer Nobody. '_How do I move forward?"_ It seemed to respond to his thoughts, as it suddenly charged forward, slamming into a group of Nobodies, destroying them. '_It responds to my thoughts!_' Ash grinned. He slammed the bike into a Dancer that was trying to flank him. He spotted a button on the bike, Ash pressed it causing the bike to fire a laser, destroying more Nobodies. '_Okay, this is just plain awesome!_' Within no time the Nobodies were gone. Ash leapt off his bike, causing it to return to Keyblade form. He grasped his shoulder again and reverted to his regular clothing. He turned to see his friends standing there wide eyed. Yuffie leapt down from her perch, similarly wide eyed.

"That. Was. Awesome!" Sora screamed.

"Yeah!" Donald agreed excitedly.

"But it takes a lot out of me..." Ash said, slightly dizzy.

"Well, I see you're all in tip top shape!" Yuffie grinned. "And who's this?" she asked looking at Ash. "Strong _and_ cute, I like!" she grinned at the blushing Ash.

"This is Ash!" Goofy told her. "We met him at Twilight Town, he's a Keyblader!"

"I noticed!" Yuffie said winking at Ash. "Two, huh?"

"I just don't understand..." Sora said quietly. They all looked at him questioningly. "Why does _he_ get all the cool stuff?" he asked, anime tears running down his face. They all fell over.

"I see you're doin' okay." Goofy said after they picked themselves up.

"What'd you expect?" she grinned.

"How are the others?" Donald asked.

"Great!"

"Hey, Yuffie." Sora said, seeming to have gotten over his depression. "Have you seen the King and Riku?"

She shook her head. "Nope." She ran towards the entrance of the alley they were standing in and turned back to them. "But I had a feeling I'd see you guys again."

Sora grinned and put in hand in front of his face. "_We may never meet again, but we'll never forget each other._" he said in a deep voice.

Yuffie giggled. "Is that supposed to be Leon?" Sora scratched the back of his head as they all laughed. "Everybody's working on stuff over at Merlin's house. C'mon!"

* * *

**Obtained**

*****Keyblade Ride*****

* * *

At a house with a bunch of books stacked behind a chalkboard, three people were at the computer with one guy typing and the other two watching. The guy typing away was about 40 years old with yellow hair spiked upwards and green eyes, a white polo t-shirt with a yellow broad belt, blue pants and black boots; he also has goggles on his forehead, a dogtag and a long toothpick-like piece of wood in his mouth.

With him was a well built twenty-six year old man with brown hair and blue eyes, a white t-shirt under a black short leather jacket with red wings on the back a necklace that has a lion head on top of a cross, a black belt on black pants and black boots; he also has black gloves with red straps on his fore arm, and a scar between his brow and the bridge of his nose.

Also a woman that's the same age as the other man with brown hair in a ponytail braid a red dress that goes a few inches under her waist with a pink skirt under it, and brown medieval boots.

The two young adults watched the older man typing furiously at a computer some sort. Sora opened the door and the quintet walked in. When they did, Yuffie popped up out of nowhere. "Meet the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee!" She exclaimed, introduced the quartet to the other three at the computer. The three turned at the sound of her voice.

"We missed you!" the Aerith exclaimed.

"Well, if you ain't in top shape." Cid commented.

Leon smirked. "I knew it." The four of them walked over.

"Knew what?" Sora asked curiously.

"A while back, everyone suddenly remembered you guys, all at the same time." Leon explained.

The trio jumped in surprise at that. "You... remembered?" Sora repeated in disbelief. "Wait! Does that mean you forgot about us!"

"Thanks!" Donald grumbled sarcastically, looking insulted.

"So where've you guys been all this time?" Yuffie asked.

"We were sleepin'." Goofy answered.

"Where? In cold storage?" Cid asked before laughing at his own joke.

"Not too far off the mark..." Ash muttered. Sora, Donald and Goofy chuckled while the others looked confused.

Aerith shook her head. "It doesn't matter." she said. "This is great, everyone's together again!" she looked at Ash. "And who is this?"

"This is Ash!" Yuffie suddenly answsered for him. "He's got this _awesome_ armor and a hoverbike that can shoot_ lasers_!" she exclaimed excitedly. "Oh, and he can use a Keyblade, two of 'em!"

Leon looked surprised while Aerith giggled. It seemed Yuffie was quite taken. "I know, it's so unfair!" Sora grumbled good naturedly. "So, um... we're trying to find Riku and the King. Have you seen 'em?" The three shook their heads.

"Right..." Sora sighed.

Aerith smiled sadly. "Sorry, but let us know if there's anything we can do to help. Okay?"

Sora nodded. "Okay. Thanks!" Cid suddenly jumped in their faces, making them jump back in surprise.

"Don't go thankin' us just yet!"

"Hollow Bastion's got a problem." Leon explained. "A big problem."

Sora peaked around Cid, who was still in their faces. Ash was getting creeped out. "You mean like Nobodies, and Heartless?"

Yuffie nodded. "That's right!" She jumped in Ash's face. "But with _you_ on the job, we've got nothing to worry about!" she winked at him. Ash sweetdropped.

"Then let's cut to the chase." Leon interrupted walking up to them. "Sora, Donald, Goofy, Ash. We were hoping the four of you might give us a hand around here."

Sora pulled Ash into a headlock. "Like we're gonna say no?" he grinned.

Leon smirked and crossed his arms. "...I forgot who I'm dealing with."

"Hey..." Donald said suspiciously. "what do you mean by that?"

"Just think of it as a sort of 'Leon compliment'." Aerith smiled. Leon walked towards the door and stepped outside.

"Follow me to the bailey - there's something you need to see." he told them before walking off. Ash was about to do so, however a puff of smoke appeared before them. An old man emerged from it.

"Oh! I thought it was you." the old man said. "Right on time!"

"It's Merlin!" Donald exclaimed.

"Sora and the gang said they're gonna help out!" Yuffie told him.

"Splendid!" Merlin smiled. "We'll count on you!"

Ash and his friends nodded. "Right!" they said.

"Ah, yes. Did you give them the cards, dear?" the old wizard asked.

"Oh!" Aerith gasped. She reached into a pocket. And handed Sora, Donald and Goofy cards. "Here, presents for you. Leon thought you'd might like to have them."

Sora read his out loud. "Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee Honorary Member!"

"Membership cards!" Donald said happily.

"Kinda cool, huh?" Goofy asked. Ash remained silent, considering he didn't receive one. Aerith noticed this.

"I'm sorry, Ash." she said sadly. Ash waved it off.

"Doesn't matter." he assured her.

"Don't fret, my boy." Merlin said. "Here." He waved his hand and a card appeared before him. Ash smiled a bit and took it.

"Thanks, Merlin." Ash said.

"Yeah, thanks Leo -" he stopped. "Oh no! We're supposed to be at the bailey!"

"Just a moment now!" Merlin halted them. "What about your magic?"

"Huh?" Was Sora's intelligent reply. "Oh... uh..." The girls giggled at him.

"Maybe you forgot it while you were asleep!" Yuffie suggested.

"Now what am I to do with you?" Merlin sighed. "I suppose I'll have to lend you a few spells. But be careful with them!" he warned as he handed Sora and Ash two blue orbs. Which they absorbed into their bodies.

"Thanks, Merlin!" Sora and Ash said in unison.

Donald nodded. "To the bailey, and fast!"

* * *

**Obtained**

*****Membership Card*****

*****Blizzard Magic*****

* * *

As they walked into the bailey they saw Leon standing at a ledge that overlooked a blue canyon. "Look at that." he said pointing at the structure off in the distance. It was a dark castle with the Heartless emblem built on it. There were the ruins of buildings underneath it. However, what really caught their attention was the _thousands_ of Heartless surrounding it.

"Whoa..." Sora gasped.

"We wanted to restore Hollow Bastion to what it used to be… Who knows - maybe even something better. There's still a lot to do, but I'm sure we can handle everything - Except for that..." he pointed at the blue landscape below them. "...and _that_."

They shifted their gaze to a space closer to them. There were two Dusks walking through the Great Maw. "They're here, that can't be good!" Ash said at the sight of the pair of Nobodies.

"Don't worry!" Sora said confidently. "We'll handle 'em!"

"That's good to hear." Leon turned his gaze to Sora. "Sora, do you know what's going on?" He asked them, which made the quintet to look at him.

"There's this guy named Pete, who's been going around plotting with the Heartless," Sora explained. "But... he's not smart enough to tie his own shoes. The ones we need tow worry about are the Nobodies."

"And those Organization XIII guyes in charge, too!" Goofy reminded him.

"You called?" a deep voice sounded. The five looked around wildly. Sora dashed off, prompting Ash, Donald and Goofy to follow him.

"You're doing well..." another voice said.

"Who's that?" Sora demanded, summoning his Keyblade. Ash did the same.

"This calls for a celebration..." the first voice said. Suddenly Dusks appeared before them. Donald and Goofy rushed off to meet them. Sora and Ash were about to follow, but several others appeared behind them. Leon drew his weapon, which Ash saw to be a gun-sword hybrid. They easily flew past him, Sora and Ash quickly followed. The gates closed before the Nobodies could enter the town. The three (Sora, Ash and Leon) stood before the gate protectively.

A Dusk tried to slash at Ash, then he slid behind it confusing the Nobody. He quickly fired Blizzard at it. He fired a couple of rounds until he felt his magic power was drained. '_I have to recharge my magic..._' Ash thought to himself and proceeded to slash at the Nobodies. Sora and Leon took care of the ones that tried to sneak up on Ash. Ash saw one of them sneaking past Leon and Sora, he quickly activated his armor, taking Leon by surprise. He rushed past him and rammed a Nobody with his shoulder. He pivoted and stabbed another. Eventually the Nobodies stopped appearing and Ash reverted back to his regular clothes.

"Hey Ash!" Ash turned in time to catch a red orb Sora tossed him. It was immediately absorbed into his body. He nodded at Sora as Donald and Goofy ran over to them.

"The Keyblades..." the voice from earlier said. Ash, Sora, Donald and Goofy ran outside in an attempt to locate it. "Truly marvelous weapons... Were it only in more... capable hands..." More voices laughed at the idea.

"Show yourselves!" Sora demanded angrily. A dark portal formed on top of a structure before them, and a man wearing a black clock appeared. The man raised his arms and five other cloaked people emerged from portals.

"Organization XIII!" Goofy exclaimed.

"Good!" Sora shouted. "Now we can settle this!"

"What a shame..." the figure said dryly. The figure turned to face Ash and stared for a few moments. "And here I thought we could be friends." The other Nobodies laughed, and all six of them disappeared.

"Stop!" Donald shouted in vain before running down the path. Suddenly one of the Organization members appeared in front of Donald, blocking his path. Donald quacked in surprise. "What's the big idea?" Donald demanded, brandishing his staff.

"Oopsy-daisy!" the figure said in a surfer accent.

"Move!" Sora demanded.

"Now do you think that's polite," the man asked sarcastically. "shutting me down like that?"

"I said get outta the way!" Sora said angrily.

"As if!" the man scoffed. "You can talk all you want, but that won't change a thing."

"Then we're gonna _make _you move!" Donald declared.

"See, that would work - if I were just any old dude." the man said. "'Cept I'm not. I'm with the Organization. Nothing 'any old' about me."

Sora scoffed. "Tough talk for someone who stood on the sidelines while his Nobody flunkies did the fighting!"

"Oh dear." the man said waggling a finger. "I think you got the wrong impression."

Sora smirked. "You gonna cry?"

"As if! Why don't I - " he was interrupted as he found Oblivion at his throat. "Heh, didn't think _you'd_ be with them."

"We don't have time for this!" Ash said angrily. The man just laughed at him.

"That's right!" he laughed. "_They_ used to give me that look too!"

"I guess you think you can psych us out by saying really random stuff!" Sora said glaring. The man laughed again.

"_He_ gave me that exact same look!"

"What are you talking about?" Ash asked him.

"Gee..." The man said backing away. "I just don't know..." They could hear the smirk in his voice. "Be good boys now!" he said as he was enveloped by a portal.

"Wait!" Donald demanded as he jumped after him, his hands grasping nothing. "Nuts! He got away!"

"That was weird." Sora commented. "_Who_ gave him the same look?"

"Y'know, I think he was just tryin' to confuse ya." Goofy suggested.

"Yeah, you're right." Sora said shrugging. "Only one me!"

"Didn't think you'd be here..." Ash muttered. "Does he know me?"

"Hey, Ash." Sora said. "Don't worry about him." He pulled out his Membership Card and held it up smiling. "The Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee Honorary Member -" The card suddenly began glowing. "Whoa!" The card suddenly began levitating above them. Sora's Keyblade suddenly began emitting a similar light.

"What's this?" Leon asked.

"Gawrsh, ya think..." Goofy whispered. Sora held his Keyblade before him and the tip began to shine. Then the crown like flash appeared under Sora and a bright flash of light occurred. Everyone covered their eyes, and when it ended Sora held the Keyblade in the air diagonally.

"Ohh... now I get it!" Sora exclaimed. "That must've been the gate Yen Side talked about."

"Oh boy!" Donald said happily. Sora turned around.

"Sorry to run, Leon," Sora appologized. "but other worlds are calling."

Leon nodded. "Organization XIII..." he muttered crossing his arms. "They look tough. Be careful out there." They all nodded as the Gummi Ship beamed them up.

"We'll be back soon Leon! Take care!" Ash called. Leon smirked and waved slightly as they faded from view…

* * *

**Obtained**

*****Fire Magic*****


	7. Bond

**Chapter 7 of Pokemon: Keyblade Masters**

**

* * *

**

Ash gazed out of the window, watching as the stars flew by. "Hey, it'll take a while to get to the next world." Sora said. Ash turned to face forward, indeed, there was nothing even remotely close.

"A few hours maybe..." Donald muttered. Sora sighed.

"Hey, Donald and I will take over, Sora." Goofy offered. "Why don't you and Ash take a break."

"And do what?" Sora asked.

"I dunno." Goofy shrugged. "Take a nap or somethin'."

"What about you two?" Ash asked concerned.

"Goofy and I will take turns." Donald assured him.

"If you're sure." Sora sighed. "Wake us up when we get there, or if something happens." They agreed and Goofy took the controls. Sora walked back and took Goofy's old seat and reclined in it. Ash and Donald did the same.

"Nighty night!" Goofy called. Ash smiled as his vision filled with darkness.

* * *

There he was, back again, at his Station. He looked around at the surrounding darkness, waiting. "Aqua?" he called out. Suddenly the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. He jumped to the right just in time as a dark gray Keyblade struck the ground where he was just standing. He looked up and was shocked to see Aqua glaring at him. "Aqua, what are you doing?"

"Fight me." she ordered. Ash was confused. Why was she hostile all of a sudden? He felt slightly hurt as well. Glaring right back, Ash summoned his Keyblades. She charged at him and he deflected the strike. He pivoted and swooped in, aiming to trip her. She jumped back and dodged it. She suddenly hurled her weapon at him. His eyes widened and ducked under it. He looked back up and saw her summon it again as she charged at him. He skidded behind her and slashed at her back, but she twirled at the last second, parrying the blow. They both leaned in, trying to overpower the other.

She suddenly pushed him away and back flipped, putting distance between the two. Ash decided to do a little copycatting and threw Oblivion at her. She easily ducked but forgot that he still had Oathkeeper. Her eyes widened he as was already charging at her, both hands gripping Oathkeeper. Again they clashed, but this time Ash began pushing her back. He suddenly pulled away, stepping to the left, causing her to fall forward. The next second, Oathkeeper was at her throat. She sighed.

"Why are you attacking me?" Ash demanded angrily.

"I'm sorry!" Aqua said. "I just wanted to test you."

"Test me?" Ash blinked. She grinned.

"Yep!" she said. "And you passed!" Ash sighed and lowered his weapon. He offered her a hand, which she gladly took and helped her up. "I sure wasn't expecting you to beat me though. And so _easily_. I must be getting rusty." she told him.

"I just got lucky." Ash muttered. "I've got plenty of that stuff."

"Either way." she shrugged. "So where are you right now?"

"We just left a place called Hollow Bastion." Ash said.

"Hollow Bastion?" Aqua repeated, confused. Ash just shrugged and plopped to the ground. He suddenly remembered something

"Hey Aqua?" he asked. "We visited Master Yen Sid before going to Hollow Bastion."

"Really?" she asked curiously, sitting next to him. "And what'd he say?"

"He said that my duty is to find those who are lost. _Those_." he said looking at her. Her eyes widened. "I'm guessing you know something about it."

Slowly, she nodded. Her eyes became sad. "My friends..." she whispered. "My friends Terra and Ventus."

Ash nodded. "I had a feeling he was talking about you." he admitted. "He said: 'One who is lost in darkness, one who had been consumed by it, and one who must have his heart returned to him.'" Ash repeated the old mage's words. "I'm guessing you're the one lost in darkness."

Aqua nodded. "My friend Terra, he was falling into darkness after our old Master, Xehanort, possesed and corrupted him." she told him. "I took his place, and now I'm here in the Realm of Darkness." she sighed and hugged her legs. Ash wrapped a comforting arm around her, causing her to lean into him.

"So, Terra was consumed by darkness." Ash stated. She merely nodded. "So what about Ventus?"

"He was possessed by Vanitas, the darkness in Ventus's heart in human form." she told him shakily. "They fought for control of his body, Ven won, but lost his heart in the process."

Ash ran and hand through her hair comfortingly. "And then?" Aqua took a deep breath and continued.

"After that we ended up at Yen Sid's tower, where he told me he couldn't sense his heart. I took him back to our home, the Land of Departure, only to find it destroyed. I remembered something that my old Master told me. Master Eraqus told me when I became a Master, that he was the protector of the world and that if anything ever happened to him, I should seal the world's keyhole with the Keyblade to prevent darkness from taking over the world. I did so, and created an entirely different world. I put his body in a special chamber, where he can rest until his heart is returned to him." She let out a deep breath after finishing her tale. "I promised I would come back to protect him..." she said as tears began forming in her eyes. Ash felt a sudden protectiveness in his heart. He held her tighter.

"Don't worry, Aqua." he whispered. "I'll save you, some how, some way."

"I know you will." she whispered back.

"And I'll save Terra and Ventus as well." Ash declared. "It's... my duty." Aqua wrapped her arms around him.

"It's been a long time since I've had contact with anyone..." she whispered blushing. "It feels... nice." Ash blushed at her words but didn't move away. He knew she needed this, to know he was really there.

"I _will_ get you out, Aqua." Ash whispered. There was no response, he looked down at her... only to find her asleep, a content smile on her face. '_Right... I'm supposed to be napping_.' Ash smiled before making a very daring move. He kissed her forehead and whispered, "Sweet dreams." before closing his eyes and drifting to sleep. He didn't see her smile widen.

* * *

**A/N: I'M SORRY! I suck at romance, this is the first time I'm actually writing it! I'm also sorry this is such a short chapter, it's more of a filler. It was mainly to establish a more firm relationship between Ash and Aqua. I also appologize for any mistakes, I don't speak Japanese so...**


	8. The Heart of the Cards

**A/N: I'm sorry this took so long, I was planning on just doing Land of the Dragons but I decided to add a few new worlds. NOTE they will not only be Final Fantasy or Disney worlds, they will be all sorts of things, as proved by this chapter. I'm sure many of you will not understand this chapter, but I'm also sure many of you will :D**

**

* * *

Chapter 8 of Pokemon: Keyblade Masters**

"Ash!" the boy in question groaned and turned away from the voice. "Ash, wake up!"

"Go away..." Ash muttered.

"Ash, we're being attacked!" Sora cried.

"Say _what_?" Ash shot straight up. He looked around wildly. Suddenly the ship shook violently. "What's happening?"

"We're being attacked by a large enemy ship!" Donald explained as he manned one of the ships guns.

"What should I do?" Ash asked frantically.

"Just stay calm!" Sora yelled as he jumped into a chair. "Try to -" He was cut off as the ship shook violently once more.

"This thing's tough!" Donald growled. "But let's see it take this!" He pressed a button near his controls. Ash looked out the window to see a large Heartless vessel. Missiles shot out from the Gummi Ship, striking the enemy ship, leaving a large cloud of dust. "Ha!"

Ash clenched his fist as the smoke cleared. They all gasped as they saw the ship still up. "It survived..." Sora muttered. Suddenly the enemy ship launched missiles of it's own. "Ash get away! Sit down!" It was too late. The missiles struck causing the Ash to lose balance. The hatch opened causing the space around to act like a vacuum. Ash, being the only one not buckled down was sucked out.

"Ash!" Sora cried.

"No!" Goofy yelled. Ash's eyes widened. Suddenly his armor activated on it's own, encasing him. Ash sighed in relief... that is until a large piece of debris came hurtling toward him. Sora, Donald and Goofy watched helplessly as the debris crashed into him, sending him hurtling into space. Ash sighed as his world slowly faded into darkness. He could only think of one thing.

'_This sure is happening a lot..._'

* * *

"Hey, are you okay?" An unfamiliar voice asked.

"Who's there?" Ash asked. Slowly a figure appeared in Ash's blurry vision. As his vision cleared Ash could make out several things about the person. The person was male, he had tri-colored hair consisting of red, black and gold. He wore a blue school outfit and had a strange pyramid shaped necklace that had an eye on it.

"I found you laying here unconscious." the young man answered. "My name's Yugi Muto, what's yours?"

"I'm Ash Ketchem." Ash said. "Where are we exactly?"

Yugi shook his head. "I don't know, I got separated from my friends, I think we're in some sort of cave." Ash took a look around. They were indeed in a cave, however there were several torches hanging off the walls.

"Where ever we are, I don't like it." Ash said, letting out a shudder.

"Agreed." Yugi said. "Why don't we find a way out together?"

"Sure." Ash replied with a smile. Yugi extended a hand which Ash took and the two set off down the cave. Suddenly Ash felt a familiar presence, making him stop in his tracks. Yugi looked at him in confusion.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"We're not alone..." Ash said quietly. "Stay on guard." As he predicted the shadows began moving and formed into several Heartless. Yugi jumped back.

"W- what are they?" he asked.

"They're called the Heartless." Ash growled. He summoned his Keyblades... or at least tried to. Ash looked at his hand in shock. "What...?" The Shadows lunged at them. Ash clenched his fists.

"Ahh!" Yugi cried as he covered his face with his arm. Suddenly a flash appeared in his coat pocket. In another flash a figure appeared in front of them. The figure raised his scepter and sent a black bolt of energy at the Hearless, destroying them.

"What happened?" Ash asked in awe. Yugi looked up and jumped.

"D-Dark Magician?" he asked. The purple clad man looked back and smiled at him. "You're here to protect me?" The Dark Magician nodded. "But how? I thought you we're just a card."

"Maybe it's magic?" Ash suggested.

"Magic?" Yugi repeated. "You mean... like my Millenium Puzzle?"

Ash blinked. "I'm not sure what that is... but sure!"

Yugi looked down at his wierd necklace. "Maybe..."

"Or," Ash continued. "Maybe it was your heart."

Yugi's head snapped up. "My heart...?"

"Sure!" Ash said grinning. "The heart can do amazing things."

Yugi smiled back at him. "Yes," he said. "It can. As long as I put my heart into my cards!"

"Wait a minute, you said cards, right?" Ash asked. "What do you mean by that?"

Yugi reached into his pocket and pulled out a deck of brown cards. "These are Duel Monsters cards." he said showing him the cards. They each had a unique picture on them along with two sets of numbers and a description. "Each monster card has attack points and defense points, some of them have special effects." Yugi showed him a card with a yellow trim. "This is the _Dark Magician_, him." Yugi said pointing at the man, who waved.

Yugi pulled out a card with a green trim. "This is a spell card, they each have different affects. This spell card is _Monster Reborn_ it allows me to resurrect a monster."

Yugi then pulled out a card with a purple trim. "And this is a trap card, they activate when an opponent attacks you, like a real trap. This trap card is _Spellbinding Circle_ it renders an attacking monster immobile."

"Whoa, that's a lot to take in." Ash said clutching his head. Yugi laughed while the Dark Magician looked amused.

"It's easy once you get used to playing," Yugi said as they continued down the tunnel. "and a lot of fun too!"

"It sounds like it." Ash said smiling. Then he frowned. '_Why can't I use my Keyblades? Is it one of the crazy rules of this world?_'

"Hey Ash?" Yugi's voice broke his train of thought.

"Yeah?" Ash asked.

"You know, maybe if my cards worked for me, maybe they'll work for you." Yugi said. Ash looked at him in confusion.

"Huh?" he asked. Yugi began digging around in his pockets once more.

"Aha!" he cried triumphantly as he pulled out another deck. "Here, they're some spare cards I have! But they don't really have any real strategy..." Yugi said holding out his cards.

"I couldn't do that..." Ash said backing away. Yugi shook his head.

"No, take them. Maybe you can use them too." he said. "I just have this feeling."

Ash stared at him for a couple of seconds before nodding. "Alright, if you're sure." he said taking the cards from him.

"I'm positive." Yugi said. He suddenly jumped. "Now's the perfect time to try! Look!"

Ash looked forward in time to see the shadows forming again. Ash gritted his teeth and looked at the cards. '_What am I supposed to do with these?_'

"Ash!" Yugi called. Ash looked at him. The duelist gave him a determined look as the Dark Magician took a battle stance. "Have faith in them! Believe in the heart of the cards!"

'_The heart of the cards..._' Ash thought to himself. '_Here goes nothing!_' Ash closed his eyes and drew the first card in the deck.

"Alright!" Yugi cheered. Ash opened his eyes and gasped. Before him stood a blond girl wearing an outfit similar to the Dark Magician, only blue and pink, and more feminine. Ash looked at the card. _Dark Magician Girl_. Ash grinned. "Okay, Ash." Yugi said. "What do you say to a double attack?"

"Fine by me!" Ash said. "Dark Magician Girl!"

"Dark Magician!" Yugi called.

"Dark Magic Attack!" they said in unison. The two spell casters raised their scepters and released two bolts of energy, destroying the Heartless in their path. The Dark Magician simply floated back to his place beside Yugi. The Dark Magician Girl, however happily skipped back to Ash and gave him a hug. Ash blushed and awkwardly returned the hug.

Yugi laughed. "It looks like Dark Magician Girl likes you!" The Dark Magician shook his head in amusement. Ash laughed nervously and the four moved on. Ash could only smile as the Dark Magician Girl bounced around humming to herself, flashing him a smile ever now and then, while her male counterpart simply walked silently. '_They're like complete opposites._' Ash thought amused.

"So Ash, where are you from?" Yugi asked. Ash flinched slightly.

"Er- well nowhere really." he said lamely.

"Nowhere?" Yugi asked confused.

"Well, I travel around a lot so..." Ash trailed off. Yugi nodded in acceptance of his answer. '_Well... It's kinda true._' Ash thought. "I was separated from my friends too."

"Really?" Yugi asked. Ash nodded. "I can't wait to find my friends again. Joey, Tristen, Tea and Bakura."

Ash sighed. "I have a lot of friends who I want to see again." he said. "Misty, Brock... May and Dawn... And then there's my newest friends: Sora, Donald and Goofy."

Yugi put a hand on his shoulder. "Then it's a good thing we're not alone."

Ash smiled. "Yeah, I've made a new friend." Ash felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Dark Magician Girl pouting at him. Ash gave her a lopsided grin. "And of course you too Dark." She beamed at him happily and gave him another hug. Ash sighed and hugged her back. Over her shoulder, Ash saw the Dark Magician smirking at him. 'Shut up.' he mouthed. The wizard waggled a finger at him and Ash merely stuck his tongue out. The Dark Magician chuckled silently.

"Hey look!" Yugi cried. "There's a light up ahead!" Ash looked up and grinned. There _was_ a light up ahead. The two ran towards it, the two magicians floating behind them. Suddenly the magicians stopped as they returned to their cards.

"Hey, what's happening?" Ash asked. He looked back up and saw they were in a brightly lit room. Before them stood some kind of... arena?

"It's a dueling arena." Yugi said cautiously.

"You mean for Duel Monsters?" Ash asked.

"That is correct!" a new voice interjected. The two boys looked across the arena. There stood a boy with shoulder length silvery-white hair.

"Bakura?" Yugi exclaimed.

"Wait... you mean your friend?" Ash asked confused. He looked again and saw the boy was wearing a strange circular necklace with an eye similar to Yugi's.

"Wait... Oh no! Bakura's been possessed by the evil spirit in his Millenium Ring!" Yugi gasped.

"Possessed?" Ash exclaimed.

"Haha! That's right!" a familiar, but unwelcome voice said. Pete walked out of the shadows grinning like a fool. "And he's gonna help me take _you_ out, kid!"

"Pete!" Ash growled. Yugi looked at him.

"You know this clown?" Yugi asked. Pete bristled.

"What did you say punk?" Pete shouted. Ash laughed.

"That's what I said." Ash said amused. Pete growled.

"Alright, Bakura let's do this!" Pete yelled.

"I don't take orders from you, fool." Bakura said coldly. Pete's jaw dropped. "But, I will ally myself with you this once... So I can obtain Yugi's Millenium Puzzle!" he said pointing at Yugi's necklace. "We challenge you to a duel!"

"And if we refuse?" Yugi asked. Bakura smirked.

"Then you don't make it out of here." he said. "The only way this door will unlock is by defeating us." he said gesturing to a large door behind him.

"Looks like I have no choice but to accept..." Yugi muttered. "Fine, I accept your challenge!"

"I don't think so, _we_ challenged the _both_ of you to a duel." Bakura said.

"What?" Ash jumped. "But I've never dueled before!"

"Too bad." Bakura smirked. "But don't worry, this oaf hasn't either."

"But..." Ash whispered. Ash's attention was drawn to Yugi's Puzzle, which started pulsating. Yugi closed his eyes for a few moments before opening them once more. Ash bit back a gasp as Yugi's eyes burned with a new determination.

"So you plan to pray on Ash's inexperience to win, eh Bakura?" Yugi asked in a more mature and determined voice. "Very well, we accept your challenge!"

"But... Yugi..."

"Just have faith in the cards, Ash." Yugi said. "Put your heart in the cards and there's nothing you can't do."

Ash looked into Yugi's eyes and saw the pure determination and courage burning within them. Ash nodded. "Alright." They both looked back at their opponents, who were already on their platform.

"It's time to duel!" they exclaimed in unison. They stepped onto their blue platform and were lifted up.

"The rules are simple," Bakura said drawing four cards. "Each of us starts with 2000 lifepoints. If one person loses his LP his partner loses as well."

"Fine by me." Yugi said. Ash just nodded.

"Ash moves first, then me, Yugi, and Pete." Bakura stated. Ash gulped. '_Okay, I'll be fine._' He drew a card from his shuffled deck.

"Okay, I'll start with the Cyber Commander in attack mode." Ash said.

**Cyber Commander**

**Atk: 750**

**Def:700**

"Fine then, I summon the White Magical Hat!" Bakura smirked.

**White Magical Hat**

**Atk: 1000**

**Def:700**

"Attack!" Bakura ordered. A man wearing a white tophat charged at his soldier, destroying it.

_**Ash's LP: 1750**_

"Because his attack points were higher, he destroyed your monster." Yugi told him. "Either way it's my turn, and I call upon the Celtic Guardian!"

**Celtic Guardian**

**Atk: 1400**

**Def: 1200**

"Celtic Guardian, attack!" The green glad elven warrior charged at the other monster, destroying it.

_**Bakura's LP: 1600**_

Bakura grit his teeth. Pete just stared stupidly at his cards, trying to figure out what they meant. "Pete you buffoon, it's your turn!" Bakura shouted.

'Oh!" Pete yelp as he fumbled with his cards. "Right!"

Bakura sighed irritably. "Draw from your deck!"

"Right!" Pete did so. "Okay I'll play this card!"

**Wretched Ghost**

**Atk: 550**

**Def: 400**

"Attack!" Pete roar smirking.

"You idiot!" Bakura spat. "That card is weaker than his!'

"Huh?" Pete asked stupidly. Yugi chuckled.

"Celtic Guardian, counter it!" The elven warrior just rolled its eyes and stabbed the furry monster, destroying it.

_**Pete's LP: 1150**_

"And now it's my turn again." Ash said drawing a card. "I place this monster facedown in defense mode. And this card facedown." he said. "That ends my turn."

"Now it's my turn." Bakura said drawing a card. He smirked. "Remember this card, Yugi? I use Change of Heart!"

"Change of Heart?" Ash asked.

"It allows me to take control of one opposing monster, and I choose Celtic Guardian!" An angel suddenly appeared from the card and possessed the elven warrior, bringing it to Bakura's side.

"My Celtic Guardian!" Yugi cried.

"Oh yeah!" Pete gloated. "What now?"

"Shut up you imbecile." Bakura demanded. "Now Celtic Guardian, attack Yugi's LP directly!"

_**Yugi's LP: 600**_

"No..." Ash groaned.

"Don't worry, Ash. He can only control Celtic Guardian for one turn." Yugi assured him.

"I'll lay this card facedown to end my turn." Bakura said.

"Alright, it's my turn." Yugi said drawing a card. Suddenly he smirked. "Well then, I summon the Dark Magician!" Ash grinned as well.

**Dark Magician**

**Atk: 2500**

**Def: 2100**

"Dark Magician attack Pete's LP directly!" Yugi ordered.

"Not so fast!" Bakura yelled. "You activated my Spellbinding Circle!"

"A trap!" Yugi growled. "Very well, you've stopped me this turn."

"Pete!" Bakura yelled. "You're up and don't blow it!"

"You bet!" Pete said drawing a card. He stared at them for several moments before, "Hey! I gots an idea!"

"Oh joy..." Bakura muttered.

"I play this card!" Pete said smugly. Ash smirked, but quickly paled.

**Red-Eyes Black Dragon**

**Atk: 2400**

**Def: 2000**

"It doesn't matter, it's still weaker than my Dark Magician!" Yugi said.

"Not when I add this!" Pete shouted. "Dragon Nails!"

"Oh no!" Yugi said worried. "Dragon nails increased a dragon's attack power by 600 points!"

"That's right!" Pete grinned. 'That makes it 3000, now Red Eyes, attack!" The large dragon fired a fireball at the magician, while Yugi watched on helplessly.

"I don't think so!" Ash called. They looked at him. "My facedown card is the Witch's Apprentice!"

**Witch's Apprentice**

**Atk: 550**

**Def: 500**

"What's that gonna do?" Pete scoffed. "It's weaker!"

"It doesn't matter!" Yugi said smirking. "The Witch's Apprentice has a special ability, it powers up all Dark monsters on our side of the field!"

"That makes the Dark Magician's attack 3000!" Ash said. "It ends in a draw!" The fireball was deflected by the Dark Magician's scepter.

"Thank you, Ash." Yugi said.

"No problem." Ash grinned. "Now it's my turn." Ash drew a card. Ash grinned. "Time to say bye-bye to your dragon, Pete!"

"Whatchu talkin' bout!" Pete demanded.

"First I use Red Medicine and Blue Medicine to raise Yugi's LP to 1500!" Ash said. Yugi nodded at him thankfully. "I call Buster Blader!"

**Buster Blader**

**Atk: 2600**

**Def: 2300**

"Hahaha!" Pete laughed. "My dragon's still stronger!"

"Haven't you learned anything about special effects, Pete?"

"Huh?"

Yugi answered him. "The Buster Blader gains 500 attack points for every dragon type on your side of the field or your graveyard!"

"Making his attack 3100!" Ash shouted. "Buster Blader attack!"

_**Pete's LP: 1450**_

"You oaf, you're going to cost us the match!" Bakura shouted.

"Hey at least I'm doin' something!" Pete shouted back.

Bakura growled and drew. He scowled even deeper. "Fine, I'll just place this card and this monster facedown to end my turn."

"Now we end this, Dark Magician attack!" Yugi called.

"You fell for the same trap twice!" Bakura laughed. "Spellbinding Circle!"

"Again..." Ash muttered. Yugi grit his teeth.

"Fine, but try guarding against the Celtic Guardian!" Yugi yelled.

_**Pete's LP: 50**_

"Uh oh!" Pete gulped. Bakura glared at him. "Well here goes nothing." He drew his card. "Hm... I use Pot of Greed to draw two other cards!" He did so and grinned upon seeing his two new cards.

"I use Dark Hole!"

"No!" Yugi cried.

"Oh yes!" Pete said triumphantly.

"Dark Hole destroys all monsters on the field on both sides." Yugi said. Ash, Yugi and Bakura's monsters were all sent to the graveyard. "And that's not all, I use Monster Reborn!"

"Uh oh..." Ash muttered.

"I resurrect my Red Eyes Black Dragon!" Pete shouted.

**Red Eyes Black Dragon**

**Atk: 2400**

**Def: 2000**

"You're just lucky I can't attack on this turn." Pete chuckled.

"The only monster I have strong enough is already in the graveyard." Yugi muttered.

Ash looked down. It was all on him then. As closed his eyes. '_It's all on me..._' Ash thought to himself. '_I just have to believe... I have trust in my heart!_' Ash placed his hand on the deck and slowly drew. He opened his eyes. He read the description and smirked. Yugi saw this looked at him intently.

"Alright, Pete." Ash said. "This is the end."

"What, you surrender?" Pete asked smirking.

"Not a chance." Ash responded. "This is the card that will beat you!"

"W- what?" Pete asked.

"You heard me, now go!" Ash yelled slamming the card down. Slowly the figure appeared.

**Dark Magician Girl**

**Atk: 2000**

**Def: 1700**

Dark Magician Girl turned to him and smiled. Pete just laughed. "You think she can beat my Red Eyes?" he asked. "My dragon is still stronger!"

"Oh I wouldn't be too sure on that, Pete." Ash said. "You see, you sent Dark Magician to the graveyard," Ash smirked. "and she's angry." Dark Magician Girl glared at Pete angrily.

"Huh?" Pete asked stupidly.

"What he means, Pete." Yugi said smirking. "That Dark Magician Girl gains 500 attack points for every Dark Magician in the graveyard."

"Making her attack strength 2500!" Ash shouted.

"No!" Pete shouted clutching his head.

"Dark Magician Girl!" Ash shouted. "Dark Magic Attack!"

"No!" Pete and Bakura shouted in unison.

_**Pete's LP: 0**_

"There's no way you coulda won!" Pete yelled. "Aw forget this crumby game, I'm outa here!" he said as he retreated into the shadows once more.

"Now Bakura, or whoever you may be." Yugi said. "It's time you left us!" Yugi raised his hand and Bakura screamed. Suddenly the necklace around his neck disappeared and Bakura opened his eyes once more. This time they showed no malice, just confusion.

"What's happened?" Bakura asked in a different, more innocent tone. "Yugi, is that you?'

"Yes, Bakura." Yugi said as they walked up to him. "The evil spirit of your Millenium Ring possessed you again."

"Really?" Bakura asked with eyes wide.

"Don't worry, he was banished to the Shadow Realm." Yugi assured him. Suddenly the door they were standing before opened.

"Now it's time to get out of here!" Ash cheered. Yugi nodded.

"Let's go, Bakura." Yugi said.

"Right."

* * *

"Ah, the light." Yugi said. "It truly is a marvelous thing."

"Yeah," Ash said savoring the feel of the sun. He suddenly remembered something. "Oh, Yugi!"

"Hmm?" he asked.

"Your cards!" Ash said holding out Yugi's cards. Yugi reached out, but closed Ash's hand around them.

"Keep them." Yugi said with a smile. "They're your's now. Thank you for all your help, my friend."

Ash looked at him before grinning. "No problem, buddy." he said. "Thank you as well, for the cards too."

Yugi nodded. Ash held up his cards proudly. Suddenly they began glowing as they floated above them. Yugi and Bakura watched in awe. Ash's Oathkeeper appeared in his hand. Understanding, Ash pointed the Keyblade at the deck, and sealed the Keyhole.

"What was that?" Yugi asked.

"A new path has been opened..." Ash muttered. Yugi looked confused but shrugged.

"That Dark Magician Girl is special, Ash." he told him.

"Yeah." Ash smiled softly. Suddenly the deck flashed again, and hugging him was the Dark Magician Girl.

"She will protect you." Yugi said. "Just call upon her aid." Ash nodded as she disappeared once more.

"I will."

"Ash!"

"Hey Ash!" Yugi and Ash turned to Sora, Donald and Goofy running up to them.

"Ash are you okay?" Sora asked worried.

"I'm fine, Sora." Ash smiled.

"Oh, these are your friends you were talking about." Yugi commented.

"Yep." Ash grinned. "I sealed this world's Keyhole."

"Okay then!" Sora said happily. "That's two down!"

"We will meet again, Ash." Yugi said. They could hear voices in the distance.

"That sounds like Joey, Tea and Tristen!" Bakura said running towards the voices.

"I hope so." Ash said. Yugi nodded and walked after Bakura. Ash nodded. "Let's go guys!"

"Alright!" Sora said as the Gummi Ship beamed them up. "Next world, here we come!"

Ash smiled sadly as Yugi's world got farther away. He looked at Dark Magician Girl's card.

"Thanks for teaching me to trust in my heart, Yugi..." Ash whispered.

* * *

**Obtained**

*****Duel Monster's Deck*****

*****Summon: Dark Magician Girl*****


	9. Nobody

**Chapter 9 of Pokemon: Keyblade Masters**

**

* * *

**

The quartet had only been flying for thirty minutes when Donald announced something. "Alright you two, we're at a crossroad." Ash sighed, seeing they were at a split in the 'road'. One path lead to a temple, the other to a castle.

"Where do ya reckon we should go?" Goofy asked them from the pilot's chair.

"I don't know, right, I guess." Ash said.

"Alright then, let's check out that temple!" Sora declared. Goofy nodded and flew the ship towards said world.

* * *

The quartet eventually made it past all the enemy ships and landed in a bamboo forest. "I wasn't expecting all that." Ash muttered. The others laughed at him.

"You'll get used to it!" Sora said. They walked through the grove, where Goofy spotted a person dressed as a soldier... and a large lizard-like shadow on a rock. "Huh?" His question caught the attention of the others, and they bent down into a huddle.

"A Heartless?" Donald asked. Ash glanced over at the shadow. It certainly didn't look like a Heartless, and the soldier didn't seem afraid of it whatsoever.

"Let's get the jump on 'em!" Sora whispered. Sora and Donald charged at the shadow.

"Gawrsh, maybe we better look before we leap!" Goofy called to the others. Ash sweat dropped. The soldier glanced at them surprised. The shadow disappeared, and a red lizard ran out from behind the rock and hid behind the soldier, after they yelped in surprise. They two began cowering. Sora and Donald stopped running and sweat dropped. Goofy and Ash came up behind them. Goofy seemed to recognize the lizard. "Is that Mushu?" he asked.

The lizard jumped out from behind the soldier and smirked. "That's right! I know you heard of me!" the lizard said arrogantly. "I'm little, lethal, and legendary! Now y'all scram before I get my dragon dander up!"

Sora grinned. "Hey, Mushu!" he exclaimed. "We missed you!"

"Well you better _hope_ I miss _you_, or else you're -" Mushu did a double take. "Sora! Donald! Goofy!"

"Do you _know _them?" the soldier asked in disbelief.

"Know them?" Mushu scoffed, hopping off the soldier's shoulder. He began walking towards them. "Man, we used to kick all kinds of bad guy butt together! Yeah, you know, I helped these guys out of a lot of tight spots!" he leaned on Sora's leg. "Cause I'm a might dragon! Right?"

Sora moved his foot, causing Mushu to fall over. "Something like that." Sora teased. Mushu picked himself up in a huff. He then noticed Ash.

"Hey, who's this?" he pointed at Ash. Ash knelt down next to the dragon.

"Name's Ash." he said. Mushu hopped up on his shoulder. "Nice to meet you, Mushu."

"So... who are you?" Sora asked the soldier. The soldier got up from the ground.

"I'm Mulan - er, no, I - I mean.." the soldier fumbled.

"Ping!" Mushu said suddenly. Ash blinked in confusion.

"Mulan Ping?" Donald asked crossing his arms.

"Just... Ping. I am Ping, son of Fa Zhou." the soldier said, taking on a 'masculine' voice.

"You know Mushu?" Sora asked.

"Mushu's one of my family's guardians." Ping explained.

"We didn't know we were borrowin' somebody as important as a family guardian." Goofy commented. Mushu suddenly jumped into their faces, startling them.

"Yeah, that's right!" he said, jumping on Ping's shoudler. "And that puts you four up to your eyeballs in debt to Ping here! Well, guess what, kiddies? It's payback time!"

"Mushu..." Ping scolded him.

"Ah, they don't mind." Mushu said. "Ain't that right?"

"Sounds fair." Sora said thoughtfully. Mushu and Ping brightened upon hearing this.

"See, Ping here is on his way to join the Imperial Army," Mushu said. "We gotta go find the other recruits over at the training camp."

"Would you join us?" Ping asked. "It'll be easier to fit in if I'm with _guys_, like you."

"Fit in?" Sora asked confused.

"Guys like you?" Ash continued.

"Well, er, don't worry about that." Mushu said hastily.

"You're pretendin' to be a boy, aren't ya?" Goofy asked. Sora and Donald did a huge take. Ash was surprised as well, though he thought something was strange about this guy.

o.O

"You're a... _girl_?" Sora asked incredulously. Ash coughed violently while Goofy chuckled.

'Ping' looked sheepish, then hopeful. "You didn't notice?" she asked in a feminine voice. Sora and Donald shook their heads vigorously. Ash sighed in relief. He had been expecting rage and violence to follow Sora's question. He shuddered at the thought of a few of his friends being asked that question.

Mulan looked back at Mushu. "I think it's working," she said with excitement, as her disguise actually worked.

Mushu shook his head. "I don't know Mulan, those two would fall for anything." he said as he and Mulan walked past them.

"I'm right here!" Sora said indignant. Donald just huffed angrily. They followed her nonetheless.

"Nice to meet you, Mulan." Ash said cheerfully.

"Nice to meet you too, Ash," Mulan said. "But can you please keep my real gender a secret?" she begged them.

"Of course!" Sora said.

"Your secret's safe with us." Ash agreed. She smiled as they made their way to a group of tents in the distance. They reached the encampment in a thirty minute walk, and the six of them looked around. Mushu popped out of Mulan's armor and said. "Remember Ping... Manly!" Mulan straightened up and began walking in a very awkward way. Ash noticed and quickly pulled her back.

"Guys don't walk like that." Ash whispered, sweat dropping. Her eyes widened.

"Really?" she asked. Ash chuckled and shook his head.

"Don't think about it, just walk." he advised. "And do _not_walk with one foot in front of the other, I've noticed that girls do that a lot."

"How do you know?" she asked curiously.

"I've traveled with girls a lot and they tend to walked with one foot in front of the other, that's why their hips sway." he said with a slight blush, remembering several incidents where he had nearly been caught staring. Mulan noticed this and smirked. She opened her mouth to comment when they suddenly heard a loud yelp. They turned to see Sora and Donald in a huge brawl with two other men while Goofy was trying to calm them down. Ash sweat dropped.

"We just can't leave them alone can we?" Ash joked. She smiled at him before rushing over to the fight, Ash followed. She looked at the brawlers in distress.

"Please!" she shouted in an anti-masculine way. This caused everyone to halt and stare at her.

"_Please_?" the skinnier of the two repeated incredulously.

"What a girl..." the short one muttered. Mulan's eyes widened.

"Uh... knock it off!" she demanded in her 'manly' voice.

"Knock what off?" the short one asked challengingly.

"He means calm down and get back in line." Ash said irritably. He hated people like this. The short one growled.

"I don't take orders from you, kid!" he snarled and charged at him. Ash's eyes widened. He sidestepped, tripping the man in the process. Ash felt the hair on the back of his neck rise. He ducked, causing the skinny one to jump onto the short one. The two began beating each other up, not realizing they were fighting each other.

"Nice one, Ash!" Donald praised. Sora laughed.

"Thanks for the backup guys!" he said. Before he could say anything else, however, a voice broke in.

"Soldier! Get back in line!" the man's voice demanded. Said man strode up to them, he had black armor and a red cape.

"The Captain!" The skinny guy exclaimed as they all filed back into line. The Captain looked at them suspiciously before walking away. Sora glared at the short man before gasping as several Shadows suddenly appeared.

"What are they?" Mulan asked nervously.

"Heartless!" Sora replied as he and Ash summoned their Keyblades. Mulan, Donald and Goofy whipped out their respective weapons. The three men from before ran off, assumingly to fetch their weapons.

"Alright, Ping." Ash called. "You ready for this?" She nodded and they attacked the Heartless. After a short fight, in which Mulan struggled slightly, the Captain approached them.

"You four," he called to them. "What are your names?"

"Sora!"

"Ash!"

"Donald!"

"Goofy, too!" The captain nodded.

"You're welcome in my troop." he told them. "Your battle skills are encouraging." Mulan felt that this was the time to introduce herself.

"I am the son of Fa Zhou-" The Captain cut her off.

"You should return home." he said bluntly. Mulan flinched.

"But... That would dishonor my family!" she exclaimed.

The Captain glared at her. "You'd rather dishonor my troops?" Mulan began getting angry. Before she could say anything she would regret, Sora saved her.

"If Ping trains hard and does his best, he'll get stronger in no time." he said.

"Hmm.".

"Just give Ping a chance, sir!" Ash exclaimed. "Give us an assignment!"

Sora nodded. "We'll show you how well we can work together."

"So... you want to be tested?" The Captain asked. He closed his eyes for a few seconds before looking at them. "Our orders are to ambush Shan-Yu's army on their way here. They should be coming through the mountain pass."

"We'll smash them!" Donald said, stomping his foot for good measure.

The Captain smirked. "I doubt that, you'll be the advance party." he told them. "Scout out the mountains for my troops."

Sora leaned back. "That's it? No problem!" he looked at Mulan, who was looking slightly nervous. "Right?"

She looked down. "R-right!"

"Well then, let's go!" Ash cheered.

"I don't think so," the Captain interrupted, making them fall over. "You leave first thing tomorrow. Do as you wish until then." He walked off then.

"Well, what now?" Sora asked.

"Well we should prepare for our mission." Mulan said. "We can practice fighting?"

"Sounds good," Sora agreed. "just wait 'til the Captain sees how much you've improved."

"I think I'll skip out guys." Ash said yawning. "I'm still beat from my last... adventure, and that battle definitely didn't help."

"You're right, Ash." Sora nodded. "You get some rest while we help Ping here!"

"Alright, I'll see you in the morning." Ash waved them good-bye. He sighed and attempted to find the Captain to ask if there were any spare tents.

* * *

Ash blinked as he looked around him. He was at his Station again! Grinning, he quickly called out, "Aqua?" He looked around, seeing no one. "Are you gonna attack me again?"

Ash suddenly stiffened. He spun around to see a figure about his size standing before him. The only thing the figure wore was... a black cloak. "The Organization!" Ash gasped. "What are you doing here?" Ash demanded.

"What am I doing here?" the figure repeated. "I live here, idiot."

"You _live here_?" Ash growled. "In my _heart_?"

"I see, you're not only stupid," the figure mocked. "but you're deaf as well."

"You wanna say that again?" Ash barked as he summoned his Keyblades.

"Oh yeah, I've been waiting for this!" the figure laughed. He held out his hand. In it appeared a weapon... Oblivion. Oathkeeper appeared in his left.

"Keyblades?" Ash exclaimed. He didn't understand, this Nobody was wielding Keyblades? It was like looking in a mirror, this Organization member had his Keyblades in the opposite hands, and his stance was almost exactly like Ash's. "Who are you?" Ash asked.

"Someone who was born in darkness." the figure responded. He charged, prompting Ash to do the same. Both unleashed a flurry of lightning fast strikes, each being parried another strike. The figure flipped over Ash, attempting to slice his head in the process. Ash quickly blocked the attack and flung Oblivion at the figure. The Organization member quickly retaliated by throwing his Oathkeeper at it, causing them to collide in midair. Both warriors charged and grabbed a blade before jumping back. Ash now had two Oathkeepers, the Organization member had two Oblivions.

They charged again matching each other blow for blow, before the figure kicked Ash's feet from under him. He attempted to stab at Ash's face, but only resulted in stabbing his Keyblade into the ground. Ash flipped away and landed crouching, ready to spring.

"Heh." the Oranization member scoffed. He slid Oblivion over, while Ash did the same with Oathkeeper. However, the figure didn't give him any time to catch his breath, as he charged again. Ash growled and did the same. Their blades met in the middle as their faces were inches apart. Even at this distance, Ash couldn't make out the person's face. Ash could feel the person pushing him back. Growling, Ash pushed as well.

'_We're evenly matched in almost every way..._' Ash thought to himself. '_Who is this guy?_'

"This could go on forever!" Ash shouted as he pulled away.

"But it won't!" the figure shouted back as he charged again. Ash was tired of this. He charged as well, but bluffed at the last second. He moved to the side, surprising the figure and causing him to lose balance. Ash placed his Keyblades on either side of his neck. The figure sighed and stood up, dismissing his Keyblades, he walked past Ash before turning back to him slightly. "Not bad..." he muttered before disappearing in a flash of light.

"What?" Ash asked shocked.

"Ash!" he felt a pair of arms wrap around him. "Are you okay?"

"Aqua?" Ash asked. Ash turned around as she let go.

"I felt you, but I couldn't get to you." Aqua said. "I was worried something happened to you."

"I'm fine, Aqua." Ash said wearily as he flopped onto the ground. Aqua was about to follow when his pocket flashed. She jumped back as a blonde girl in a mini skirt and a strange variation of a magician's hat suddenly appeared. Ash blinked as he suddenly felt someone hugging him.

"Hey, Dark." he said without even looking at who was hugging him. "So you can come here too, huh?" he turned slightly and met her worried gaze. "I'm fine, Dark. I can fight on my own." he assured her. She didn't look happy, cut didn't press it either.

"Wha - W- who?" Aqua stuttered.

"Oh, Dark, meet Aqua." Ash introduced. "And Aqua, meet Dark Magician Girl. Dark for short."

"I - it's nice to meet you." Aqua said. Dark waved enthusiastically.

"Anyway, I'm beat." Ash groaned.

"Here, this should help a little," Aqua said raising a hand, which glowed green. "Cure!" Ash was enveloped in a green light as he felt some of his weariness fade.

"Thanks, Aqua." Ash thanked her. She reached into a pocket and withdrew a green orb and held it out. "I'm assuming that this is Cure?"

"Yes, you need it more than me." she stated as he took the orb. Ash closed his eyes as his body absorbed the spell.

"Thanks."

"So, what's happened to you so far?" she asked as she sat on his right side, as Dark sat on his left. Ash closed his eyes and layed back as he told them all the things that had happened so far. Upon finishing he let out a sigh, and eventually fell asleep. Aqua turned to Dark. They had a few things to talk about...


	10. China's Peril

**A/N: Okay guys, I have actually recieved a few requests. I was surprised to say the least. The requests were that this becomes a harem fic. Now, I'm not too sure about that. If you vote to make this a harem fic, then I shall have to appease. BUT! I have a few rules about it!**

**1. There will be no more than 3 girls! Any more is just ridiculous!**

**2. Ash/Aqua will be the main pair! This is not negotiable!**

**3. No yaoi and to keep it fair, no yuri either. (No offense, but I don't feel comfortable writing it.)**

**4. If you vote yes, you must also vote for which girls you want. Actually, you probably already know which two girls I'm gonna choose, so vote for the last one.**

**5. I can't think of anything else at the moment but I'll think of them later if you vote yes.**

**Chapter 10 of Pokemon: Keyblade Masters**

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* * *

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Ash awoke with a sleepy groan. He opened his eyes only to shout as he was staring into the bright green eyes of Dark Magician Girl. She giggled at him as he crawled backwards clutching his heart. After recovering Ash glared at her playfully.

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" he asked her. She winked at him and faded back into her card. Ash chuckled and stepped out of the tent. He looked towards the horizon to see the sun rising. He took a deep breath.

"Ash!" someone called. He turned to the voice to see Sora and the others rushing over to him. "You ready to go?" Ash nodded. "Alright, let's go find Captain Shang."

They set off and found the Captain within minutes. Shang turned to him and nodded. "I see you're ready to go." They nodded. "Very well, now you mission...

* * *

It was nearing noon and they had just finished three other assignments. Their current mission was to open the mountain paths and head on to the village in the mountsins. This was to be their last assignment for Mulan to gain the Captain's respect. Now this mission was slightly more difficult than the last three, they had to clear several rockslides while fighting off the Heartless. Sora and Ash worked away at the rocks while Donald, Goofy, and Mulan kept the Heartless at bay. Eventually the path was clear and Yao, Ling, and Chien-Po came over to them.

"Hey, you ain't half bad," Yao said to Mualn.

"A man among men!" Ling added cheerfully.

"Thanks!" Mulan responded. They nodded before walking pass them. Mulan's eyes fell to the ground. "But the Captain..."

"Captain!" Sora excaimed. Mulan's head snapped up as Shang and a couple of soldiers came over to them.

"Ping sure did great!" Goofy told him.

"You bet he did!" Donald added.

"Hmm..." Shang sighed. "Fine. I'll let you join my troops... But I'm still not convinced you have what it takes to be a worthy soldier."

"And why's that?" Ash demanded angrily. Mulan quickly grabbed his shoulder.

"It's alright, Ash." she said. "I'll find a way to show him what I'm made of. Just give me a chance."

Shang offered a smile. "That's the spirit, Ping." She snapped into a salute, the others following.

"Sir!" They exclaimed as the Captain walked away. Sora nodded towards them.

"Alright, let's get to the village!"

"Right!"

* * *

They arrived at the village to find the other soldiers walking around chatting. After moving away from them, Ash, Sora, Donald, Goofy and Mulan were stood in a circle around Musho. "Okay, girl! Here's your chance! I saw this real shady guy," Mushu informed them. "and I know it's Shan-Yu!"

"Shan-Yu?" Mulan gasped.

"That's the Hun leader!" Sora said in realization. "We've got to tell the Captain about this!"

"Right!" Mulan agreed. They started walking away when...

"Waaaait wait - wait- wait - WAIT!" the little dragon exclaimed. "Everybody use their heads a second." Mushu took a deep breath. "Now, why are we here?" he asked them. He didn't give them a chance to answer before he started again. "To make the Captain see Mulan's - I mean, _Ping's_ talents and bring honor to her family." he answered himself. They all nodded in agreement. Mushu grinned. "So, let's go find out where Shan-Yu is, by ourselves, then if we're lucky, we can fry him up good!" Mushu said slamming his fist into his open palm. "Though just tracking the guy down should earn us our stars. Captain Musclehead will have to notice my girl!" All of them turned towards Mulan. The final decision was up to her. She stood there silently thinking. She suddenly looked up with them, determination burning in her eyes.

"Let's go."

"We'll help out!" Ash said. Sora nodded in agreement.

"Now we're cookin'!" Mushu grinned. "Shan-Yu is in a cave outside the village!" At that he jumped back into Mulan's armor.

"Then that's where we're going." Ash said. They nodded and started walking towards the village outskirts. The five of them faced no objection as they walked out of the village and into the cave. They walked in and at the end was nothing but a large room lit by candles. "Dead end..." Ash sighed. Donald took a look around.

"There's nobody here..." he said.

"You're crazy!" Mushu huffed. "Check again!"

"Oh, well..." Donald sighed as he began walking towards the cave entrance. Goofy turned as well.

"Wait for me, Donald!" he cried as he ran after their friend. Sora looked back.

"Hey, wait up!" Then suddenly, the ground under them started to shake.

"What's going on?" Mulan asked startled. Then a familiar purple light appeared behind them and a barrier was formed, cutting them off from Donald and Goofy.

"Sora!" Donald exclaimed.

"Ash!" Goofy cried. "Ping!" While they were shouting a large man walked to the front of the cave, laughing silently. Heartless began appearing in the room, making Sora, Mulan and Ash draw their weapons. After a short battle, they managed to beat all the Heartless. Ash noticed that Mulan did significantly better.

"You're getting good at this, Ping." Ash complimented as the barrier fell. She blushed slightly.

"Thanks!" she nodded. Donald and Goofy ran over to them.

"Are you okay?" Goofy asked.

"Yeah, thanks to Ping!" Sora grinned.

"C'mon!" Mushu exclaimed. "Time to report to the Captain!" They turned to him in confusion.

"But Shan-Yu wasn't here." Mulan said

"Please, that Hun is old news!". Mushu scoffed. "We're gonna tell the Captain how thousands of Heartless stormed the cave, and Ping took out almost every one of 'em!"

Ash shrugged. "Let's go then." Sora nodded in agreement and led the way out. Upon walking out they came upon a horrible sight. The village was burned down and most of the troops gone. "Dear Arceus..." Ash muttered.

They walked around a bit until they heard a groan. They saw Shang clutching the wound on his side. "Captain!" Mulan shouted when she saw him, and ran over to him.

"Don't overdo it, Captain!" Sora exclaimed.

"It's just a scratch." the Captain assured them before falling to his knees in pain.

Mulan bent down. "Captain, the enemy!" she said. "Where did they go?"

"They went towards the summit..." the Captain ground out.

"We'll stop them!" Mulan declared.

"It kinda is our fault..." Goofy muttered.

"Right." Mulan nodded. Mushu jumped down and started pacing sadly.

"You mean _my_ fault." he said sadly.

"No way!" Ash said.

"Ash is right!" Sora told him. "Shan-Yu and the Heartless did this, not us!" he proceeded to kneel down to the Captain's level. "Captain, if you track down the villagers, we'll handle this."

Sora looked at the destruction around them in disgust before turning towards the summit. "Let's go." he demanded.

* * *

They reached the summit without many problems. Upon arriving they looked around, seeing no one. Suddenly a falcon flew over them and landed on the shoulder of a figure in the distance. A deep rumbling was heard. Then hundreds of Rapid Thrusters, Heartless that are about the size of a head that have a yellow head, small black body and a propeller on top of its body; lined up next to him.

"Uh oh..." Ash muttered.

"Attack!" Shan-Yu screamed. The Heartless came charging toward them. Everyone brought out their weapons and prepared for battle. The wave quickly separated the gang. Ash saw some Heartless that looked like towers with heads at the bottom.

"Ash!" Sora called. "We'll take out the Rabid Thrusters, you take out the Bolt Towers!"

"Got'cha!" Ash called back. He got into stance, until a bolt of energy grabbed him and held him high. Ash struggled with all his might, but he managed to bring Oathkeeper in front of the beam then threw it at the Bolt Tower. The energy, now connected to the Keyblade, came closer to the Heartless until it made contact, making the Heartless explode and also destroying the other Heartless nearby. Ash continued taking down the Bolt Towers until the Heartless army was no more.

"Alright, we did it." Sora cheered.

"Don't cheer just yet..." Ash muttered as more Heartless appeared next to Shan-Yu. Shan-Yu roared and started running down the hill with the Heartless following him. Shan-Yu's falcon flew over them, screeching all the way.

"Move aside!" They heard Yao's voice. They turned their heads and saw Yao, Ling and Chien-Po walking next to them with Yao holding a cannon.

"We'll handle this!" Ling said as Yao knelt down and aimed the cannon at Shan-Yu.

Mulan got an idea. "Sorry!" She apologized before knocking down Yao and taking the cannon. She placed it in the snow and aimed it at the mountain. She started to frantically looking around for something about a fire until she set her eyes on Mushu.

"We'll handle this!" Ling said as Yao knelt down and aimed the cannon at Shan-Yu.

Mulan got an idea. "Sorry!" She apologized before knocking down Yao and taking the cannon. She placed it in the snow and aimed it at the mountain. She started to frantically looking around for something about a fire until she set her eyes on Mushu.

Mushu tried to get away as Mulan grabbed him and stretched him, making him coughing out a fire which lit the cannon. Mushu landed on the cannon, right before it fired. "You're going the wrong way!" He shouted as he flew toward the mountain. There was an explosion on the side of the mountain and the snow began to crumble.

"Uh oh." Ash muttered. Everyone looked at him as he began running. "Avalanche!" They stood there before realizing what he meant.

"Run!" Sora cried as he and the others followed Ash's example.

The snow exploded on the hill and started rushing down the slope, overtaking Shan-Yu and his army of Heartless. Mulan saw the Captain coming up beside them. "Shang, watch out!" She shouted as she ran toward him. She grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the way just in time as the snow passed.

When the excitement was over, Shang and Mulan stood up. "I never should have doubted you," Shang said to her. "From now on, you have my trust."

"Thank you, Captain!" Mulan said happily.

Mushu popped out of the snow and shook the snow off his body. "First she uses me as a lighter, then she uses me as a cannonball. Oh, the head ancestor is going to hear about this," Mushu moaned, not knowing that Shang is near him. "C'mon Mulan, let's stop this charade and go home already."

"Mushu!" Mulan shouted at him. Mushu looked confused for a minute until he noticed the Captain. He gasped, putting his hands over his mouth.

"Mulan?" Shang repeated in disbelief. "A woman? It can't be!" He looked at Mulan.

"Captain! Ping!" Sora shouted as he, Donald, Goofy and Ash approached them.

"Oh boy! You're okay!" Goofy exclaimed, happy that both Mulan and Shang are okay.

Shang glared at them. "What's wrong?" Ash asked uncomfortable with the glare Shang was giving him.

"You all knew, didn't you?" Shang realized. "You all knew that Ping was really a woman in disguise."

Their silence spoke for them. Shang walked away a few steps before stopping and said over his shoulder, "The punishment for high treason and dishonoring the Imperial Army… is death." Ash flinched. "Get out of my sight… now," he ordered, "You're all dismissed."

"But Captain…" Sora began to say.

"My debt is repaid," Shang said, then he walked away. "Move out!" Two of the soldiers in the front moved at an incredible limp as the rest of the army started marching down the mountain.

Mulan sighed while Mushu went on Mulan's shoulder. "Mulan, I blew it…" Mushu said, feeling sorry for what happened.

A few minutes later Mulan had changed into the clothes that were under her armor. She wore a gray shirt with green trims, white pants and martial arts shoes. She let her hair down as well, revealing it to be shoulder length. "I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused you." she apologized.

"It's fine, Mulan." Ash said. "But what are you going to do now?"

Mulan shrugged. "I guess I should go home," she said, then she started walking away with Mushu.

"Man, your dad's going to be steamed like a chicken dumpling," Mushu mumbled. Mulan stopped and sighed.

Sora grabbed Donald, Goofy and Ash and pulled them close to him. "Don't worry, we'll take our share of the blame," he said with his goofy smile.

Mulan smiled. "Thank you, you're all wonderful friends," she said. Ash pulled her into the group hug.

"Of course! Now let's get you home!" he said as they started walking to the ridge. When they tried to exit Shan-Yu's falcon screeched from above. They all looked up and Ash ran to follow it. When he returned to the summit he saw a hand that forced its way out of the snow. The others came up behind him and gasped.

The hand then put itself on the ground and, to everyone's shock, Shan-Yu pulled himself out. He looked around for a bit until letting out a war cry. Then some Rabid Thruster Heartless appeared around him. Shan-Yu stood up and the falcon landed on Shan-Yu's shoulder, the Hun looked toward the city.

"He's alive!" Ash whispered frantically. "How is it possible to survive an avalanche?"

"He's headed for the city!" Mulan cried. "We've got to warn Shang!"

"Right!"

* * *

They made it to the Imperial City and saw the troops marching towards the palace. They hurried over and neared the Captain.

"Shang!" Mulan cried out. He turned to her in surprise. "Shan-Yu is alive! He's headed this way!"

"And why should I believe you this time?" he asked her coldly.

"But… she's telling the truth!" Sora said, trying to back up Mulan.

"Why would we lie about something like this?" Ash demanded.

"Hmm…" Donald mumbled. He looked up in the sky and quacked in surprise as he pointed up into the sky. Everyone looked up and saw Shan-Yu's falcon flying over them.

Shang looked around and saw Shan-Yu in question at the top of one of the towers. The Hun grinned evilly then jumped off. "Move out! Do not let the enemy get anywhere near the Emperor!" Shang ordered with Yao, Ling, and Chien-Po charging in and giving out war cries. Shang raised an eyebrow as he noticed only those three had charged in. "That's an order!"

He turned to the other soldiers, to see that they were surrounded in darkness for a moment and they became Heartless that are in purple robes called Nightwalkers. He gasped in disbelief of what had become of them. The five of them brought out their weapons and stood before him protectively. "Captain! We'll secure the courtyard and you can save the Emperor!"

Shang hesitated until Donald shouted, turning to him, "That's an order!" Shang nodded at him, and started running to the Palace Gate.

"Surrounded..." Ash muttered.

A light bult suddenly appeared over Sora's head. "Guys!" he called. Ash and Mulan turned to him. Ash blinked in realization and Mulan nodded.

"For China!" she shouted.

"Alright, let's go!" Ash cried as they got into stance.

"I'll handle this!" Mushu shouted as he came out. Then fire burst out of nowhere and damaged the surrounding Heartless. Sora, Ash, Mulan and Mushu then went flying around, burning and slashing the enemies in their wake. At the end of their attack, Mushu spat many fireballs into the air which landed on the few Heartless left and destroyed them. Donald and Goofy stood there all the while, amazed.

"The Emperor's in danger!" Mulan cried.

"Not time to lose!" Sora agreed.

"Let's go." Ash nodded.

They reached to the top of the stairs just in time to see Shan-Yu holding his sword to the Emperor's neck. "Now you'll bow to me," he seethed at the Emperor, who remained silent.

"Think again!" Ash called. Shan-Yu turned to them and smirked. Suddenly, Shang dropped down out of nowhere and knocked Shan-Yu down. He then led the Emerpr into the palace, while Chien-Po and Ling shut the doors, and Shang looked back at them expectantly before the doors closed.

Shan-Yu recovered and ran to the gate, but the five of them got in the way. "It ends now!" Mulan stated.

"Right now!" Sora agreed. The falcon landed on Shan-Yu's shoulder, and the Hun began to laugh as his body was surrounded by darkness.

"Alright, let's go!" Ash cried as the Hun charged at them. Ash followed and their weapons met in between them. They were at a stand still.

"You cannot overpower me!" Shan-Yu cried as they pushed.

"Go, Ash!" Sora cried.

"Maybe..." Ash smirked. He suddenly pulled back, making Shan-Yu fall forward in surprise. Ash kneed him in the face, sending him tumbling back. Shan-Yu clutched his face and glared at him hatefully. Ash raised his hand and gave the 'bring it' sign. "Wanna try again?"

"Your trickery will not save you!" he snarled. Ash glanced backward, seeing his friends protecting the gates from the Heartless. Ash turned back in time to dodge the slash from Shan-Yu.

"First rule of combat, pay attention!" Shan-Yu growled. Ash then feigned left, causing Shan-Yu to attempt to block. Ash then went right, slashing his unprotected back.

"Second rule, no talking!" Ash smirked.

"Foolish boy, you dare mock me?" Shan-Yu said charging once again. Ash met his charge and they clashed once more. "I won't fall for your tricks anymore."

"I bet." Ash said as he used his might to push Shan-Yu's sword up. He dodged Shan-Yu's retaliation strike by flipping over the Hun's head and slashing at the back of his head. Luckily the Keyblade was so blunt, or that would have killed him.

'_Why is it called the Keyblade anyway?_' Ash thought as he continued dodging Shan-Yu's attacks. '_It's so blunt, why not call it the Keymace, or Keyhammer, or Giant Housekey of Doom?_' Parry here, dodge there. '_I guess it just doesn't sound as cool._'

"I refuse to lose to a mere boy!" Shan-Yu screamed. Ash grit his teeth as their weapons met for the third time. Ash pushed Shan-Yu's sword up and Shan-Yu raised his sword, expecting him to leap. Ash took advantage and slashed at him with all his might. Shan-Yu's eyes widened as he began falling backwards.

"And stay down..." Ash muttered. He turned back towards the others who cheered. A second later their eyes widened.

"Ash look out!" Mulan cried. Ash turned in time to see Shan-Yu sweep at him. He was knocked away into a pillar and swiftly lost consciousness.

"Ash!" Mulan cried as they ran over to him. "Ash wake up!"

Shan-Yu laughed at them. "Pathetic boy!" Sora cletched his fist. He was about to charge at the Hun when suddenly, Ash's pocket began glowing.

"Wha?" Sora gaped. Shan-Yu's eyes narrowed. They all covered their eyes as the light became blinding. As they opened their eyes again they all gasped. There stood a beautiful blonde girl in a pink and blue outfit. Dark turned to them and gasped. She ran over to Ash and began shaking him. When he didn't respond, tears stinging at her eyes. Her gaze then turned furious. She slowly turned to

Shan-Yu and glared. He flinched slightly before his eyes narrowed. Dark began floating high above them as pure energy began forming around her scepter. She raised the scepter above her head and brought it down, sending the gathered energy flying at the frozen Shan-Yu. They had to cover their eyes as the light was too bright. They heard Shan-Yu scream, and they opened their eyes to see Shan-Yu gone. They stared in awe as the girl floated down sniffing. They then heard a groan.

"Ugh..." Ash groaned as he sat up, with Sora helping him. "Sora did you get the number of that bus that hit me?" he asked dazed. They all laughed at him. Ash grinned lopsidedly before feeling something place him in a full body hug, nearly sending him to the floor once again. "Oh, hey Dark, sorry I worried you." Ash said as he supported her by her thighs. She buried her face in his jacket.

"Hey, um, Ash?" Sora asked hesitantly. "Who is she exactly?"

"Oh, she's Dark Magician Girl, Dark for short." Ash explained over her shoulder.

"Is she gonna be lettin' ya go anytime soon?" Goofy asked.

"Probably not." Ash replied.

"Oooookaaay then..."

Later all of them (Minus Dark, who returned to her card.) stood before the Emperor, a huge crowd of citizens had gathered behind them. The Emperor approached Mulan. "I've heard a great deal about you, Fa Mulan." he began. Mulan bowed. "You stole your father's armor, ran away from home, impersonated an imperial soldier. You disobeyed your commanding officer, shamed the entire Chinese army, and dishonored you family name..."

"We get the picture..." Sora muttered.

The Emperor ignored him. "You are a young woman, and in the end…" Donald groaned. "...you saved us all." The Emperor bowed. Mulan stood up straight, and was surprised to see the Emperor bowing before her. She looked around nervously as the citizens that are present bowed to them. Ash grinned and bowed as well. Mulan was blushing heavily at this point.

"Ash..."

"Captain Li," the Emperor stated. Shang nodded and picked up Shan-Yu's sword. He walked to Mulan and gave it to her. "Take this, so that the world will know, what you have done for China."

"Thank you." she bowed again.

"Mulan," Shang started getting Mulan's attention. "Sora. Donald. Goofy. Ash." he said catching their attention. "Thank you."

"'Thank you' Is that all there is to say, Captain?" The Emperor asked. "If you wish to win the heart of Fa Mulan, China's bravest woman, you'll have to be a bit more eloquent than that!" Shang gaped at him then looked at Mulan before turning away, emarassed. Mulan giggled. Sora and Ash grinned at each other. Sora tapped her shoulder.

"Hey, can we get an autograph?" Sora asked.

Mulan turned to them and smiled brightly. "Sora, Ash... Thank you... for_ everything._" she said. embracing them.

"It was nothing." Ash said, putting on his best 'Aw shucks' face. She giggled at him.

Mushu paced on the floor, excited. "Now they _gotta _let me go back to being a guardian," he said to himself, not realizing that he's near Goofy. "They _gotta_!"

Goofy was confused. "But, Mushu, I thought you already _were _a family guardian," he said, catching the others' attention.

Mushu looked flustered. "Wha?" He said, then realized his mistake. "Oh, uh, now don't you worry about that. That's just real technical, just for us guardians."

"You tricked us!" Sora and Ash exclaimed at the same time. Mushu tried to explain himself, but Sora had already lunged at him. Ash just sighed and mentally made a note to get revenge on Mushu.

Just then, Shan-Yu's sword began to glow. "Huh?" Mulan mumbled as the sword floated out of her hands and into the air.

Ash spotted it and knew what was happening. "Hey, Sora!" He yelled, getting the Keyblade Master's attention, the said boy having smashed Mushu into the ground.

Sora stared at it for a few seconds. "Hey Ash!" Sora called as he brought out his Keyblade. Ash nodded understanding, summoning Oathkeeper. They stood next to each other and touched the ends of their Keyblades together as a crown appeared on the floor below them. A keyhole appeared in the sky as they both leapt back and held their Keyblades diagonally, the ends still touching. A single beam shot out from them as they opened a new path.

"Okay!" Donald cheered.

"Guess it's about time to be movin' on." Goofy said.

"You shall be missed," the Emperor said.

Ash turned to the Emperor. "…Is it okay if we come back to visit?" He asked.

"Of course," the Mulan replied happily.

"We will look forward to your return," Shang added.

Sora smirked. "Play nice you two," he teased Shang and Mulan. They became flustered.

"Whoa!" Shang cried. "Watch it, soldier!"

Mulan giggled as Mushu jumped onto her shoulder. "Good-bye, Sora, Donald, Goofy, Ash!" she called, waving them bye, as they walked down the stairs. Ash looked back just before the Gummi Ship beamed them up.

"Bye, Mulan." he whispered.

* * *

**A/N: It doesn't matter how many votes I get, if yes outweighs no, then yes it it.**


	11. Beauty and the Beast

**A/N: I need a name for Yugi's world! Any suggestions? I have also decided no on the harem thing, or rather, no additional girls, only the ones already establish i.e. Aqua and Dark. Oh, by the way, I forgot to do this in Chapter 9!**

**Obtained**

*****Cure Magic*****

**Chapter 11 of Pokemon: Keyblade Masters**

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Ash watched as the Land of the Dragons grew smaller and smaller. Sora and the others were talking, but Ash paid minimal attention to their conversation. He was thinking about that dream and when he was fighting that member or Organization 13. Who was that guy? And what was he doing in his heart? There was also the whole Dark thing. Sora and the others had told him how badly she reacted to Shan-Yu knocking him out. It was touched that she cared about him so much. What would happen when he was seriously injured? He didn't want to think about it. Ash blushed when he thought about her glomping of him. She refused to let go for all of ten minutes, and still he had to pry her legs from around his waist while murmuring consolations. Sora didn't help things with his endless teasing, or Mulan's giggling. His thoughts were broken by Sora calling his name.

"Hey, Ash!" Sora called. "Where should we go?"

"Huh?" Was Ash's intelligent reply. Sora rolled his eyes and grinned, noticing the still present blush. "Don't even start!" Ash growled. Sora raised his hands in surrender, stupid grin still in place.

"I didn't say anything!" he chuckled. "Anyway, where to?" Sora asked pointing out the window. Ash looked out. A new path had opened, leading to a coliseum, but there was till the castle left to be explored. Choices, choices...

"There's only one way to solve this..." Ash declared. He pointed at the coliseum then the caslte. "Eeny, meeny..." Donald groaned while Sora burst out laughing.

"That one!" Donald shouted pointing in a random direction, which happened to be the castle.

"Fine, ruin my fun, Donald." Ash pouted. Sora snickered and piloted the ship towards the castle.

* * *

After going through the Gummi Route, the four of them walked into the entrance hall. It was very dimly lit, most of the light being provided by the moon.

"It's huge!" Donald exclaimed.

"And sorta gloomy, don't ya think?" Goofy added.

"I wonder who lives here." Sora thought out loud. This was answered by a loud roar the vibrated throughout the castle.

"There's our answer..." Ash muttered. Apparently Goofy recognized the roar.

"Hey, does anyone else recognize that?" he asked them.

Sora began to think, then the roar was sounded off again. "Hey!" he exclaimed. "That's the Beast!"

"Yeah!" Donald agreed.

"The Beast?" Ash asked. "As in the one that helped you in Hollow Bastion?"

"Yeah!"

"Maybe we should check up on him." Goofy suggested. Just then a Shadow streaked across the floor and into an open door.

"Look!" Sora exclaimed.

"C'mon!" Donald demanded as they all ran in after it. Donald peaked his head through the door. "Where did it go?" he asked as he stepped in. The others followed him, though they didn't spot any either. Ash's attention was drawn to a shining rose in a glass container. He also noticed Donald creeping up to it greedily.

"Donald..." he warned. Donald ignored him and was about to reach for it when a Shadow appeared before him. Quacking in surprise, Donald leapt back.

"Found it!" he exclaimed as they all drew their weapons. Ash looked around, they were surrounded by nothing but Shadows, however there were a _lot_ of them, and it seemed like every time they destroyed one, two more took its place.

"Aw, c'mon, _enough_ already!" Sora whined.

"Somebody _help us!_" Donald shouted.

Suddenly the doors banged open, causing everyone, even the Heartless to stop and stare. From the doors emerged a being that resembled several wild animals. It wore a torn purple cloak and dark blue pants. It's fur was brown and had blue eyes. The Heartless jumped at it, but the creature swept them away with an irritated roar.

"Just in time!" Sora exclaimed happily as he extended his hand for a high-five. The Beast gave him a cold stare and slammed him into the walls. Donald quacked in outrage before he and Goofy were also slammed aside. Ash simply stepped out of his way, not looking forward to being shoved violently aside. Beast then picked up the case containing the rose as though it were precious to him and walked out, ignoring them all.

"What was his problem?" Ash asked as he help Sora stand up.

"Gee, do ya think he maybe forgot who we are?" Goofy asked concerned.

"With this many Heartless around, _something _must be up." Sora said logically.

"Why'd he have to do that?" Donald muttered as he rubbed his cheek. Ash pat his shoulder sympathetically as he followed the Beast out the door.

"Let's see what's up!" Ash said. The others agreed and followed him into the entrance hall. Ash looked around and spotted Donald staring at something. Apparently Sora noticed this as well.

"What is it?" the boy asked. Donald turned to them slowly.

"I just know I saw a lady at the top of those stairs..." Donald replied. Ash looked up and saw no one.

"Well..." Goofy started. "If the Beast is here in the castle, then that lady musta been Belle, right?"

"Yeah, maybe." Ash agreed. Sora nodded.

"Belle might know what's happened to the Beast, too." he suggested.

"C'mon! Let's go find her!" Goofy said. They all nodded and proceeded to follow Donald up the stairs he thought he saw Belle on.

* * *

As they entered the east hall, Sora turned to them and made a 'shh' sound. Goofy covered his mouth. They quietly approached a door when they heard a woman's voice say, "Oh, what am I going to do?"

Sora silently pointed at the door, indicating that the lady, Belle, was inside. Donald nodded then walked to the front of the door. "Okay," he muttered, and charged at the door.

"Donald!" Sora and Ash hissed. Just as Donald was about to crash through, the door swung open, making Donald fall flat on his face. Ash, Sora and Goofy burst out laughing.

"Hey!" Donald shouted, his face clearly showing anger and embarrassment. "Who opened the door?"

After getting their laughter down, they peaked through to see a woman in her early 20's with brown hair and eyes, a white shirt under a blue dress of some sort, a belt around her waist, and brown shoes. She was beaming at the duck. "Oh, I'm so happy you're here!" she exclaimed as she recognized Donald. She picked him up and hugged him tightly making him begin struggling against her. She caught sight of them hiding behind the door and gasped. "Sora! Goofy! And who are you?"

"Hiya." Sora greeted with a smile. "This is Ash, our new friend."

"Nice to meet you, but I think Donald would like you to put him down." Ash said with a chuckle.

"Yes! Put me down! _Put me down_!" Donald shouted. Belle gasped and put him down with an embarrassed smile. Donald collapsed to the floor as his eyes became dizzy.

"It's nice to meet you too, Ash." Belle said. Donald recovered and stood next to them.

"Where's the Beast?" Donald asked. Belle looked sad.

"Oh, he must be in the west wing." she said. "We don't talk like we used to."

"Did something happen?" Sora asked concerned. Belle nodded.

"Isn't that why you're here?" she asked. They looked at each other in confusion.

"Not exactly." Goofy said. "But we can still help!" he added hastily upon seeing Belle's devastated look.

"Since we're here and all." Sora said. Ash and Donald nodded in agreement.

"So the Beast won't talk to you?" Ash inquired. Belle nodded again.

"He's been acting strange lately." she said thoughtfully. "The only ones who might know why are locked up in the dungeon. I want to help them, but..."

Sora interrupted her. "Wait a second. Who locked who up?" he asked confused.

"The Beast locked up his servants." Belle explained.

"What?" Ash asked. "Why?"

Bell shook her head. "That's what I don't know."

"Well then!" Sora exclaimed while running out the door. They waited for a few seconds and he came back in. "Where's the dungeon?"

Belle sweat dropped and said, "The dungeon is in the west wing."

"Alright, _now_ we can go." Ash declared as they began their trek towards the west wing.

* * *

"It's really bright in here." Ash commented once they entered the west wing.

"There should be an entrance here somewhere..." Sora mumbled as they looked around. Ash looked around and spotted a wardrobe at the end of the hall. He walked up to it and spotted a door behind it. Ash went to the left and began pushing it.

"Hey guys, I found it!" Ash called to them. The wardrobe suddenly grew a face and glared at him.

"Do you _mind_?" it scolded in an English accent. They all gaped at it or rather, her as she scooted back into place. Once she was back in position she fell asleep.

They went into a huddle and spoke softly among themselves. "What are we going to do? The door to the undercroft is behind that wardrobe!"

"Well, we can try to push it…" Donald suggested.

"Or ask it to move so we can go through," Goofy suggested as well.

"I don't know… what do you think Ash?" Sora asked the raven haired boy. Getting no response, he turned to where Ash is… or was.

"Excuse me," Ash said to the wardrobe, getting the others' attention.

The wardrobe woke up and looked down at him. "Yes?" She asked.

"Um… sorry for waking you up earlier, but can you move over so we can go to the door?" Ash asked politely, sweat-dropping a bit.

"Why do you want to go to the door behind me?" She asked.

"We were asked by Belle to rescue the servants the Beast threw in the dungeon," Sora replied as he and the others walked up next to Ash.

"Oh, it's about time," the wardrobe smiled.

"May I ask you something?" Ash asked politely. After getting a nod he continued. "Why are you well... alive?"

"Oh, well, I used to be human, you know." she said. "That is, until the enchantress cast her spell. I was turned into a wardrobe when the prince was turned into a beast."

"The prince is the Beast?" Donald shouted.

"The Beast is a prince?" Goofy asked in equal shock. The wardrobe nodded.

"It was a cold winter night…" They began to listen. "And that's all you young yens will here before you rescue the others." They all fell over. "Now hurry, the dungeon is damp and chilly. Certainly no place for a clock!"

"A... clock?" Ash repeated. She sighed.

"You'll find out soon enough."

"Alright then, let's get going!" Sora said as he opened the door. They walked into the undercroft, where they saw a stone door with the figures of two monstrous-looking guardians on the sides of the keyhole. Donald ran to door and tried to push it open. The figures' eyes glowed yellow for a second. Donald quacked in surprise and jumped back. The figures turned black and started to move. They glanced at the four of them as they drew their weapons. Then two more clawed hands covered the lock from the other side of the darkness.

Ash ran forward, dodging the fists as he goes and whacked the hands on the lock. Thanks to Scan ability, Ash can see the weak spot of his enemies. After a couple of seconds, the creature (called Thresholder) slammed Ash with its fists throwing him back. Ash quickly used Aerial Recover, another move that he learned, and landed on his feet. Then a few bat like Heartless with hooks as their tails, called Hook Bats, appeared in the room. Donald focused on those, while Sora, Ash and Goofy worked on the Thresholder. Pretty soon, the Heartless was beaten enough that it lost its grip.

Sora jumped up and pointed his Keyblade at the lock and shouted, "Freeze!" A clicking sound was heard, and something black flew out. The Thresholder turned into stone.

"That's what's controlling it!" Ash shouted as he began attacking it. It didn't fight back, but after being destroyed, it flew back to the Thresholder and resumed the cycle.

"Ash!" Sora called. They stood together, pointing their Keyblades at the Heartless.

"Light!"

"Give me strength!" The beam of light their Keyblades produced struck the lock dead center, destroying the Heartless. The Thresholder dissolved into dust.

"Finally..." Donald muttered.

"C'mon, we've got to save those servants!" Ash exclaimed as he walked to the door. They nodded and went through the door.

When they walked in, it didn't seem like anyone was there. "Um… this is the dungeon, right?" Sora asked, confused. There was just a clock, a candlestick, a teapot and a teacup.

"You mean there's no one to rescue?" Donald asked, looking around for the servants.

"Did someone say 'rescue'?" A voice, with a French accent, asked.

"Shh!" Another warned the first then said with a British accent: "It might be _them_."

They looked around in confusion. "Oh, but they seem like nice boys to me," a woman, in a British accent, said.

"We _are _nice, we're your friends," Goofy said with reassurance, trying to seek out the source of the voices.

"Yeah, we were asked by Belle to rescue you guys," Ash added, looking around for the source.

This seemed to relieve the voices. The clock, candlestick, teapot, and teacup jumped off their respective platforms and walked over to them. "Whoa!" Ash exclaimed. The others were in similar states of shock.

"I'm Sora," the Keyblader introduced himself. "Donald. Goofy. Ash." he continued, indicating the others.

"What are your names?" Ash asked.

"Oh yes, where are our manners? I'm Lumiere," the candlestick introduced himself.

"My name is Cogsworth," the clock introduced himself, then Donald picked him up. "Hey, stop that!" He complained as the duck shook him. "I am self-winding, sir! Put me down!" Donald and Goofy continued to inspect Cogsworth with curiosity.

"And you can call me Mrs. Potts," the teapot introduced herself. "And this is my son, Chip," she continued, indicating the teacup with a chip missing.

"So how did you guys get this way?" Ash asked them.

"It's a long story," Lumiere replied.

"It was a cold winter's night…" Mrs. Potts began as she and Lumiere went back to their respective spots.

"An old beggar woman came to the castle seeking shelter…" Cogsworth continued for her until Donald started messing with the swing. "Hey, stop that at once!" Cogsworth snapped at him as he shut the door with the swing.

Ash laughed silently. "Hey Donald, put him down," Ash said. Donald sighed and put Cogsworth down.

Cogsworth then cleared his throat and continued, "…however, the Master turned her away because of her… meekly appearance."

"The beggar woman warned him not to be fooled by appearances, yet he still turned her away," Lumiere continued, then mused: "The Master wasn't very… princely back then, and he's… how should I say it… cruel."

"LUMIERE!" Cogsworth scolded.

"Then the old woman's ugliness melted away, to reveal a beautiful enchantress," Mrs. Potts continued. The others don't like where this is going…

"Did the Beast… or should I saw the Prince… ask for her forgiveness?" Ash asked.

The servants glanced at each other nervously. "He did… but because of the Master's refusal, she put a curse on him, into a shape of what she thought his heart is like," Cogsworth replied.

"And to further punish him, we were cursed as well," Lumiere added.

"Let's get the enchantress!" Donald suggested.

"Oh heavens no, dears" Mrs. Potts shouted.

"When did this all happen?" Ash asked.

"I would say close to ten years ago." Cogsworth estimated.

"The enchantress is long gone after putting the curse on the whole castle," Ash replied, and then added: "Besides, what's done is done."

"Anyway, do you guys know what's up with the Beast?" Sora asked, "He's been acting strange."

"We don't know, but we think that something is messing with his head," Lumiere replied. Ash somehow had a distinct feeling of who it is but couldn't place who it is.

"Yes, it's like he's turning heartless." Cogsworth said.

"A Heartless?" Donald shouted in shock, and the others are in shock to.

"If they're involved, then it's a good thing we're on the job," Sora said, with determination.

"Let's talk to the Beast." Ash nodded.

"Splendid!" Cogsworth exclaimed, pleased that they'll help.

Lumiere hopped off from where he stood and went to the door. "Come on Monsieurs!" Lumiere called to them, "I know a secret passage!" They all nodded, and followed the French candlestick out the dungeon.

They followed Lumiere to a balcony at the undercroft. On it was two suits of armor that looked impassable, and behind them was a door.

Cogsworth walked up to the front of them and cleared his throat. "Please make way for our guests!" He commanded. To the quartet's amazement, the suits of armor stepped to the side and stood still once more. The door that was once blocked slowly swung open, and all of them walked through.

As they entered the secret passage, Ash looked around. "Okay, where do we go from here?" He asked the servants.

Lumiere looked at Ash. "Ah, there is a secret door in this hall," he replied, "And it is hidden by a strange contraption."

"What sort of contraption?" Sora asked.

"Observe," Cogsworth stated, getting everyone's attention. He jumped up to a handle that swung a switch down with his weight. Four lanterns dropped down in various parts of the passage, and one was right next to them. It seemed to be covered in darkness.

"If we can light all the lanterns here, the way can be revealed," Lumiere explained, "However, the lanterns are already lit."

"Can't ya just throw some water on 'em?" Goofy asked.

"I could, but the flames on the lanterns are enchanted," Mrs. Potts replied, "If only we could use the power of light…"

Sora was hit with an idea. "How about I use the Keyblade?" He asked as he summoned his weapon. Sora used the light to shut out the darkness, Mrs. Potts put out the flame with water, and Lumiere lit the lantern with a normal flame.

"Wonderful!" Lumiere cheered.

"Just three more to go!" Mrs. Potts cheered.

"Piece of cake!" Sora said, putting his hands behind his head.

"I wouldn't be to sure about that, Monsieur," Lumiere warned. They all looked at Cogsworth, who was struggling to keep himself up. "You don't expect Cogsworth to hang there forever, do you?"

Cogsworth was outraged. "What? Why? Lumiere! You-" He began to say until someone grabbed him and put him down. He looked up and saw Ash holding the handle.

He looked down at the clock. "Don't worry Cogsworth, I'll hold it for you," he said with reassurance, "I'll wait here until you guys are done."

Cogsworth took a deep breath of relief. "Oh, thank you Ashton," he thanked.

Ash smiled. "You're welcome," he said.

The task was done and everyone regrouped at the end of the hall. "Now the secret door should open," Lumiere said.

Goofy looked around in confusion. "But, I don't see any door," he said, a tad worried.

"Don't worry," Lumiere said, brushing away their worry. "Just push on that stone, the one that's sticking out."

Ash nodded and walked up to the stone and pushed it in until it was even with the rest of the wall. There was rumbling happening beneath their feet, and a portion of the wall in front of them dropped down to reveal a hidden passage to the west hall.

Lumiere stepped forward. "Well, I'm going to check on the rest of the castle," he said to them, "I fear my absence has been too long." He went out, and Mrs. Potts did the same.

Cogsworth turned to face Sora. "We need to go talk to the prince," he said, "I'll be waiting for you at his room at the end of the west wing." Then he walked out. The quartet did the same.

* * *

After battling the Heartless along the way, Ash walked up to the door to the Beast's room. He was about to open the door when he heard voices on the other side of the barely closed door. They were about to ask what was wrong when Ash silently shushed them. He took a peak into the room. He looked around the room before he saw the Beast's back. It seemed he was staring at something.

"It's time, you dealt, with Belle," a person said, sounding like an elder man. "She's going to take everything you have," the man continued, walking to the center of the room revealing him to be wearing a black coat with a his hood covering his face, "Your castle, your precious rose. And then… your life. Trust no one. Feed your anger! Only anger, will make you strong!"

"I have enough of strength," the Beast said, "All I want now is-"

"What?" The man asked him. "To love, and to be loved in return? Who could ever love a beast?" The Beast turned to him and roared in anger.

Ash narrowed his eyes at the person. He looked away from the door and to the others. "C'mon! There's someone talking to the Beast! It looked like an Organization member!"

"The Organization? C'mon, let's get in there!" Sora exclaimed. He kicked the door open and they burst into the room, drawing their weapons. The man turned to face them.

"See? She has accomplices," he said to the Beast. The man waved his arm and a barrier appeared behind the Beast and the quintet, then he disappeared.

Sora walked to the Beast. "Hey, Prince!" He called out to the Beast.

The Beast didn't seem to hear him. He looked up and roared. Then he lunged at the group. Everyone got out of the way. The Beast glared at them and roared. "That doesn't look good." Ash muttered as they saw some kind of dark aura surrounding the Beast. The Beast charged at them, but Cogsworth appeared out of nowhere.

"Please Master!" the clock cried. "Compose yourself!" he hit the Beast with some kind of energy, sending him flying back. Cogsworth began gathering more energy, Ash and Sora protecting him as he did so. After enough energy was gathered, he sent it at Beast, making the Beast drop to his knees. Cogsworth ran over to him.

"What happened?" He asked. "Cogsworth? What's going on?"

"Well, Master... ah, you see... that is..." Cogsworth stuttered. "How shall I say... ah, actually... mmm..."

"Well, to start, you threw all your servants into the dungeon." Ash said while crossing his arms. "Name's Ash, by the way."

"I did what?" Beast asked in disbelief.

"Uh… you did!" Cogsworth replied, hesitantly.

"Who was that guy you were talking to? The one in the black coat," Ash asked.

The Beast thought for a second then gasped. "Xaldin!" He exclaimed. He growled. "That's his name. He came from the darkness. He… he used my anger to control me!" He looked down to the ground. "He turned my sorrow, my pain, my anger… and turned it all into rage!" He looked at his hands solemnly. "There was nothing I can do; I could no longer see the truth…"

"Hey, don't feel bad," Ash said, trying to cheer him up. "It's not your fault that Xaldin manipulated your emotions. You didn't know that."

"Yeah! And you threw your servants in the dungeon, so you can protect them!" Goofy added.

"Yes, Master!" Cogsworth threw in his two-cents. "We've all seen how kind you can be."

"Was that it? Was it to protect them?" The Beast asked.

"We think so, and so does Belle," Cogsworth replied.

"Belle!" The Beast exclaimed, then he sighed and looked down. "I've mistreated her… I've mistreated her and been so selfish."

"She didn't say that," Ash said.

"She would never tell anyone of my cruelty," the Beast quickly replied. "She's too good."

"You see?" Cogsworth whispered to them. "I'm afraid he judges himself far too harshly."

"Why don't you just go talk to her?" Sora suggested. Beast looked away.

"But..."

"Hey!" Ash exclaimed. "No excuses!"

"Yeah, we'll go along with you!" Sora said grinning. Beast gave a sigh.

"Very well, and... thank you."

"Alright, let's go!" Ash said as he and Sora dragged Beast out of the room.

* * *

After defeating the Heartless that got in the way while they were going to Belle's room, and Ash seeing the Beast's abilities, they made it to the room. But all they saw was the wardrobe.

"Master!" The wardrobe exclaimed.

"Don't worry, he's back to normal," Ash said, calming the wardrobe down.

"Where is Belle?" The Beast asked.

"Oh, she left," the wardrobe replied, "Saying something about going after a man in black…"

"WHAT?" The Beast roared, scaring the wits out of Donald and Goofy. Sora and Ash were unfazed. "Why doesn't she do what she's told?"

The wardrobe turned away from him. "Temper, temper!" She said, obviously used to his temper, "Her spirit is what makes her special, you know."

"If Belle is following Xaldin, then she's in trouble!" Ash exclaimed.

"Well then, we gotta find her!" Sora suggested. Beast nodded, and they all ran out of the room.

They got to the entrance hall when they heard Belle's voice. "I'm warning you! You'll be sorry!" She shouted.

The group looked around for the source. "Belle! Where are you?" The Beast yelled.

"Beast! Help!" Her voice replied. They turned to the doors behind them. "I'm in the ballroom!"

The five quickly ran to the doors and burst in, where they saw Belle running from something. "Belle!" The Beast exclaimed.

"I'm alright!" Belle she shouted as she ran outside to the porch and closed the door. From the ceiling, a Heartless wrapped in chains tried to get her. It turned around and spotted them.

Infuriated by this, the Heartless roared, then it flew to the middle of the floor and jumped in. As it popped out, the whole room became coated with darkness. Before they knew it, the whole ballroom became a dark arena.

"Oh boy…" Ash said as they got into fighting stances. He quickly scanned the Heartless and found its name to be Shadow Stalker.

The Heartless then flew up to the chandelier and merged with it. The chandelier dropped down and started to attack with flames. Sora and company attacked the chandelier until the Heartless was weakened, and then Sora used his Keyblade to release the Heartless.

"Did we beat it?" Donald asked as the Shadow Stalker began to pant.

Then it roared and covered itself in darkness. "I'll take that as a no…" Ash said, then the chains began to get sucked in.

A few seconds later, the dark cocoon suddenly burst and a Heartless with an extremely big jaw with blue thrones around it and orange hair.

"Whoa!" Sora exclaimed.

They went into their fighting stances again as the Heartless, that Ash and Sora identify as the Dark Thorn, turned invisible. Ash tried to find it until something grabbed him and threw him to one of the pillars. Ash quickly recovered and grabbed one of the pillars and used the momentum to swing back to the Dark Thorn and whacked it on the head.

"Nice!"

Dark thorn suddenly became transparent, though not invisible. They managed to continue to attack it by looking for its silhouette. Ash ran to the Heartless, jumped onto its head and jumped high up onto the chandelier. He grabbed the chain that held the chandelier to the ceiling and forced it down. When it smacked the ground he shouted to the others, "MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!"

They comply and moved out of the way. Then Ash spun the chandelier, making it spin and move around the room. One part of the chandelier caught the Dark Thorn and dragged it along, making it turn visible. Ash quickly jumped off and the Dark Thorn was thrown when the chandelier rose up to the ceiling. It suddenly grabbed Sora and began spinning wildly. Sora was thrown at frightening speeds.

"Sora!" Ash called as he held out his hand. Sora nodded and grabbed it, the momentum causing Ash to begin spinning at incredible speed. Ash then flung Sora at the Heartless, the Keyblader slashed straight through. The exterior of its body cracked, and it shattered into many fragments of darkness which vanished. The ballroom immediately turned back to normal.

"Nice work you two!" Goofy praised.

"Alright! We did it!" Ash shouted as he and the others cheered.

"So you think," a voice taunted them. They all looked back at the entrance of the room and spotted the Organization member.

"Xaldin!" Beast yelled, and they all ran to him.

"Farewell," Xaldin muttered, then he enveloped himself in darkness.

They all stopped as soon as he disappeared. "What does he want?" The Beast wondered.

"He's probably with the Organization," Sora answered. Beast turned to him. "Ever heard of the Nobodies?" Sora continued, "When a strong-hearted person becomes a Heartless, a Nobody is created too. The Organization controls those Nobodies."

"Yeah, and he was going to turn you into a Heartless, so they can get your Nobody and have control of it!" Goofy hypothesized and realized at the same time. They all nodded in agreement with the idea.

Goofy gave out a 'A-hyuck!' when Belle ran back inside the ballroom. The servants walked into the ballroom. The Beast walked up to Belle. "Belle… I'm sorry, I wasn't myself…" he said to her then he turned to the others for some help. Sora urged him onward. Beast sighed and looked at Belle again. "I really hope I didn't hurt you…"

Belle smiled. "Don't worry, I know you weren't yourself," Belle reassured. "But, you could at least change a little bit." Beast flinched at that sentence. "I wish you could start trusting me."

"Oh… I'm afraid time is running short," Lumiere remarked with worry.

The quartet looked at him. "Why's that?" Ash asked.

"Remember the rose?" Lumiere asked him back.

"From the Beast's room?" Donald asked.

"You see, if the Master learns to love and get love in return when the last petal falls…" Cogsworth replied.

"The spell, will be broken!" Lumiere finished.

"Really?" Sora asked, then crossed his arms. "You think he's going to make it?"

"We think so," Mrs. Potts said with a smile.

Goofy smiled as well. "Yep! I think your right!" He exclaimed.

"I _hope _you're right," Sora remarked in disbelief. Then suddenly, the Keyblade appeared in his hand, as did Ash's Oathkeeper. They looked up at the ceiling and got into position. Back at the Beast's room, the rose's container levitated in the air and gave out a familiar glow. A bright flash of light appeared in the room and ended, meaning that they had opened another gate.

"What happened?" Beast asked as he and Belle walked up to them.

"The gate is open!" Donald shouted.

"Do you really have to go?" Belle inquired.

"We'll be back soon!" Ash responded. He noticed Sora picking up an emerald green stone off the ground.

"And if you heard anything about Riku or the King, the Nobodies, the Organization- anything at all, let us know!" Sora said after absorbing the spell. "See ya guys later!" Sora said as the quintet waved good-bye to them as the Gummi Ship beamed them up.

* * *

**A/N: I found this Chapter a little boring. But don't worry, next Chapter will be better... or maybe the Chapter after that. Idk.**


	12. Xhäs

**A/N:******** Super Special Awesome Ultra Special Sexy Update Rate FTW! A little short, but it got here fast!**!

**Chapter 12 of Pokemon: Keyblade Masters**

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* * *

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"Alright, that's another world down!" Sora exclaimed.

"I guess that coliseum is next?" Ash asked. Sora's reply was cut off as the ship began shaking.

"Huh?" Goofy asked as they all watched space zip past them.

"Hey, wait a minute..." Sora muttered. "Is the ship moving all on its own?"

"Yup!" Goofy said. "Looks like we're headed toward Hollow Bastion." Ash looked out the window to see the ship entering a portal of some sort. After entering the portal, it looked as though they were in some long hallway, with a light at the end. Once they got to the other side, they saw Hollow Bastion come into view.

"Time to see what's up." Ash said as they landed.

* * *

"I wonder what's up." Sora thought out loud as they walked through the Borough. They turned the corner to Merlin's house when 3 Soldier Heartless ran out the door and vanished. They all let out sounds of surprise before rushing in.

They saw Merlin sitting on the ground, gasping for breath on his backside. "You alright Merlin?" Ash asked as he helped the wizard up.

"Yes, yes I am Ashton," the wizard replied. He looked at them with a frown. "Well, now... took your time, did you?"

"Oh, was it you who summoned us, Merlin?" Goofy asked.

"Yes, yes." the old wizard confirmed. "But it seems I used too much power in doing so, and those infernal Heartless..." he let out an annoyed sigh.

"So what's up?" Sora asked.

"Well, I happened to stumble upon this in the Zero District." Merlin said with a snap of his fingers a book appeared in his hands. He handed the book to Donald and they all looked at the cover.

"Pooh's storybook!" Sora exclaimed happily.

"That's right." Merlin said with a nod. "I know you're a good friend of Winnie the Pooh, Sora - that's why I summoned you. And when I did, I was attacked by the Heartless. Of, course I fought back with some rather powerful magic, but then I began to fear the book would be damaged, so I..." he trailed off. "Now, just a moment. Leon and the the others need to hear this too. I'd better go find them. Be back in a jiffy." he said as he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"I wonder how Pooh is doing." Sora wondered.

"Wanna find out?" Donald asked with a sly smile.

"Yeah!" Sora replied with enthusiasm.

Donald opened the book for Sora. Sora got ready to enter the Hundred Acre Wood. "Sora!" Goofy shouted.

"Cover for me!" Sora commanded, giving Goofy a thumps up and got back into stance. A bright flash occurred, making Goofy and Ash cover their eyes. Donald had to close his eyes. Ash opened his eyes and found that Sora was gone.

'_Well, we're not doing anything so...'_ "Hey guys, I'm gonna take a nap, wake me up when Sora or Merlin gets back." Ash said.

"You sure love your naps, Ash!" Goofy commented with a chuckle. Ash smiled sheepishly.

"What can I say, I love my beauty sleep." Donald and Goofy laughed and nodded. Ash sat on Merlin's bed and leaned against the bedpost. He closed his eyes and entered his subconsciousness.

* * *

Ash opened his eyes to the familiar scenery around him. His Station. Something felt... off. Ash glared at the surrounding darkness. "I know you're there." he shouted. Before him, a familiar cloaked figure stepped out of the darkness. "Who are you?" Ash demanded.

"You mean you haven't figured it out yet?" the figure asked. "You really are dense!"

"Shut up, Nobody!" Ash growled. The person laughed at him.

"Well, then let's go over the basics." he said. "1. I'm a Nobody."

"Obviously." Ash growled.

"Temper, temper." the cloaked person taunted. "2. I'm in _your_ heart. Getting it?" Ash blinked and his eyes widened. "Yeah, that's it..."

"You can't be..."

"But I am."

"You're... _my_ Nobody?" Ash asked. "But... how?"

"How what?" his Nobody asked. "How am I here? How was I created? Be more specific."

"How were you created?"

"When you were turned to stone." he said simply. "The blast from both Mew and Mewtwo stole you're heart, but the Pokemon... when they cried for you, they each gave you a part of them. In essence, they gave you a part of their heart." Ash's Nobody slowly raise his hands towards his hood and lowered it. Ash stepped back. It was like looking in a miror. He looked exactly like him, only a few minor differences. Firstly was his eyes. While Ash's were chocolate brown, his Nobody's were crimson red. And lastly, was a scar running across his face. "And I was born. Xhäs"

"Xhäs?" Ash repeated. "But, if you're my Nobody, then how are you here?"

"I merged with you."

"You _merged _with me?" Ash repeated. "How? Why?"

"How? It was easy, all I had to do was come into contact with you."

"And when did that happen?"

"During your Awakening." Xhäs said. "In fact, I was the trigger for your Awakening. Since I had already gone through it, it forced you to do the same."

"Why?" Ash asked.

"Why? Because we are becoming one." Xhäs explained. Ash still looked confused. "The dream of all Nobodies is to become whole. Nobodies are only half a person. But the only way to become whole is to become one with your Somebody. In my case, you."

"So you just wanted to become whole?" Ash asked. Xhäs nodded. "So you're an Organization member?" Xhäs shook his head.

"I was. A long time ago." Xhäs pointed at his face. "See this?" he asked indicating his scar. "Their leader gave this to me. For turning traitor."

"Do you know what they're planning?" Ash asked him. Once again Xhäs shook his head.

"I left before they unveiled their master plan."

"So, why did you turn traitor?" Ash asked.

"To become whole." Xhäs replied. "I searched for a long time, and eventually stumbled upon your world."

"So... what will becoming whole do?" Ash asked.

"Well, its already been happening." Xhäs told him. "How do you think you were so skilled with the Keyblade with absolutely no training? It's because I've been training for years. Have you noticed how you have been more mature and intelligent than usual? That's my personality blending with your's. It seems some of my memories are becoming your's as well."

"Like remembering Twilight Town." Ash said in realization. Xhäs nodded.

"Twilight Town was my home." Xhäs looked upwards. "Looks like it's time for you to go."

"What?" Ash asked. "Wait!"

"We'll talk again some other time." Xhäs' voice echoed.

* * *

"Ash!" Donald cried.

"What? What's happening?" Ash asked bolting up. He looked around to see Donald staring at him and Goofy nowhere in sight.

"Heartless!" Donald responded as he ran out of the house. "Get Sora!"

"Right!" Ash shouted. He ran over to the book, unsure of what to do. He grabbed the book and started shaking it. Sora comically fell out, landing on his rear end.

"What was that for?" Sora whined, rubbing his backside. Ash was about to respond when Donald did so for him from outside.

"Sora! Ash! Hurry up!" the duck shouted.

"Donald?" Sora yelled back in concern. He quickly ran out of the house, Ash following him. They ran out to see Soldiers everywhere. They quickly joined the fray and soon there were no more.

"Sora, did you get the book?" Goofy asked. Sora's eyes widened as he ran back into the house.

"No!" he shouted. "It's gone!"

"Relax, Sora." Ash said as he reached into one of his side pouches. "I've got it." He handed the book to a relieved Sora.

"Thanks, Ash." Sora replied thankfully.

"You should go and check to see if Pooh's alright." Goofy suggested.

"Good idea." Sora said as he entered the book. Suddenly Merlin appeared in a puff of smoke. The old wizard looked around.

"And where did Sora run off to?"

"Well, you see..." Ash started.

"He's in the book isn't he?" They all nodded. Merlin sighed as Sora re-emerged from the book. "Couldn't be bothered to wait up for an old wizard, eh?"

"Sorry about that..." Sora said sheepishly. "Pooh's just fine by the way."

"That's excellent news." Merlin said. "This book is one of the world's most cherished elements. I'd been meaning to tell Leon that I'd found it."

"It's a good thing that Ash saved it then." Goofy commented.

"Yes, yes..." Merlin agreed. "Now, the book isn't all that's cherished... This is for you, Sora."

He held out his hand and a charm with the picture of a baseball bat on it, appeared in a puff of smoke. He handed it to Sora.

"What's this?" Sora asked, looking at the charm.

"If you, or Ash, focus your heart, you only need to saw the word and an ally will help you out in battle," Merlin replied.

"Oh like Ash's Dark Magician Girl?" Goofy asked.

"I suppose." Merlin said, not really knowing what he was talking about. "Now go forth, with your friends by your side! I will transport you back to where you were before I called you."

"Thanks, Merlin." Sora said as they were beamed up by the Gummi Ship.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry, I didn't want to have to do a Winnie the Pooh side quest. ****There aren't many ways to rearrange Ash, unfortunately. I wasn't looking forward to naming his Nobody Shax or something stupid like that.**


	13. We Will Be Heroes!

**A/N: Wow my fingers hurt after typing this. For now, Xhäs will be pronounced ZAWs... or maybe ZAYs... IDK! What do you think? BTW my spellchecker isn't working, so there might be quite a few mistakes that I couldn't catch. Sorry**

**Chapter 13 of Pokemon: Keyblade Masters**

**

* * *

**

"Xhäs..." Ash muttered as the ship exited the portal.

"What?" Sora asked confused.

"Oh, nothing." Ash said. "Hey look, its that coliseum!" Sora looked out the window.

"Its Olympus Coliseum!" Sora exclaimed excited.

"Oh, yeah. With Hercules, right?" Ash asked. Sora nodded.

'_This should be interesting._' Ash thought.

* * *

The quartet stepped into the world after going through the Gummi Route. They had let Ash pilot the ship this time, and they surprisingly made it out unharmed. The pirate ship had been a pain, though... They now found themselves in a dark cavern.

The others were confused by their surrondings. "Are ya sure this is the coliseum?" Goofy asked.

"It's that way!" Donald exclaimed upon seeing a shinning staircase.

"Oh..." Sora muttered. "Guess we were a little off." They started to follow the duck when a scream caught their attention. They all looked back to see a woman with brown hair being chased by blue dog-like Heartless. She tripped and the Heartless surrounded her.

"Heartless!" Sora shouted. They ran over, but the dogs ran off upon catching sight of them. Sora held out a hand to help her up, but the woman shrugged it away.

"Thanks, but... I'm fine." she muttered. Sora kept his hand out and the woman took a good look at him. She stood on her own and asked, "And you're supposed to be?" she asked with a frown, arms crossed. Ash frowned at her attitude.

"I'm Sora." the boy introduced. "He's Donald, Goofy and Ash. We came here to see how Hercules is doing."

The woman looked at them in a calculating manner. "You know Wonderboy?"

"Wonderboy?" Ash repeated.

"Yeah, 'cause we're heroes, too!" Donald said sticking his chin up.

"Ahyuk, ya mean _junior_ heroes, Donald." Goofy corrected him in a whisper. Donald scowled at him as Ash snickered.

The woman chuckled. "Looks like we have a friend in common." she remarked. "Name's Megara. My friends call me Meg."

"So how's Herc?" Sora inquired.

"Wonderboy?" she asked. "Well, he's duking it out at the Coliseum every day. You know, 'a hero's work is never done' and all that. He's ready to drop, but he keeps fighting. Even Wonderboy has his limits, though. These opponents are bad news - special deliveries from Hades himself..."

"Hades?" Donald exclaimed.

"Right." Meg nodded. "Lord of the Underworld. I was on my way to see him. Maybe I can get Hades to give Wonderboy a breather. If anything happened to that kid..."

"Gawrsh..." Goofy said softly. "Sounds like you're more than just friends!"

Megara blushed. "Oh... uh, I mean..." she stuttered. Ash chuckled.

Sora smiled. "We'll go have a little talk with Hades." he said. "I'd hate for anything to happen to you on your way to see him."

Meg seemed taken aback. "You really want to do that?" she asked. "Well, it looks like you know what you're doing. I guess I'll take you up on that offer. But... let's keep this whole chat-with-Hades thing our little secret, okay?" she pleaded.

"Our lips are sealed." Ash said as he 'zipped up his mouth'. Meg smiled gratefully before walking back towards the Coliseum. Ash turned back to see the others already heading through the door to the Cave of the Dead. He quickly ran after them. They found themselves in a large room with little balls of steam floating around. They fought their way past some Heartless and made their way into a tunnel. Just as they entered they saw a figure in a familiar black coat streak past them.

"It's the Organization!" Donald exclaimed after the figure disappeared. They quickly ran after the figure. They had to fight their way past more Heartless and falling boulders. Ash and Sora were running full speed, when a Large Body Heartless appeared before them. Ash jumped and kicked off of its belly, flipping backwards.

"This is getting annoying." Ash muttered as he summoned his Keyblades. Sora grunted as he charged at it. Ash glanced behind them, Donald and Goofy were quite a bit behind. He turned to see the Large Body slidding over to him on its belly as a frightening speed. It knocked him back, sending him flying into the wall. "Why you..." Ash growled angrily. He raised his Keyblade to strike back when the cave began rumbling. All combatants looked upward was the ceiling came crashing down upon them. Ash dove to the side and rolled away. He looked up from his position on the floor to see a pile of rubble. It had squashed the Heartless, which Ash way thankful for, however, it also had the unfortunate side effect of seperating him from his friends.

"Ash!" he heard Sora call frantically. "Ash, are you okay?"

"What happened?" he heard Donald's voice demand.

"The ceiling crashed down and it separated us from Ash." Sora explained. "Just hold on, Ash! We'll get you out!" Ash looked at the large pile of rubble and shook his head.

"That will take way too long!" he called back to them. "Just go on, I'll go down this tunnel and meet up with you guys later!" It was silent as Ash waited for a response.

"Alright..." he heard Sora say after several minutes. "If you're sure. Just be careful!"

"No need to worry!" Ash yelled with a grin.

"That's when we worry the most!" he heard Goofy chuckle. Ash smiled faintly and began his trek down the tunnel. His eyes narrowed as he felt the shadows around him closing in, sensing he was alone. He suddenly found himself surrounded by Shadows. The fight was taking forever. They just kept coming!

"This isn't good." Ash muttered as he was back into a wall. He saw his pocket flash and smiled, knowing what was coming. Dark appeared by his side, ready for battle. "Alright, let's go!" She smiled as they were both lifted into the air. Dark began firing bolts of black energy, while Ash was creating a flurry of magic. The Heartless were being destroyed by the second. Finally, Ash and Dark clasped hands as they each pointed a weapon at the Heartless, Dark's Energy Blast and Ash's Fire magic combining. "**Dark Burning Magic!**" The surrounding Heartless were engulfed in jet black flames. As they landed, Ash turned and grinned at her, only to turn scarlet when he felt her lips on his cheek. He began stammering and she giggled at him before winking and disappearing in her card. Ash just stood there attempting to recover his composure. He reached into his pocket and pulled out her card. He could of sworn he saw the card wink at him.

(**A/N: If you still don't know what she looks like, it's the picture on my profile.)**

He was about to say something to her when he heard the sounds of battle up ahead. Quickly forgetting what he was about to say, he dashed to the sound, placing her card back in his pocket. He came to the end of the tunnel and entered a large room lit by blue torches. In the center, he saw a woman with pink hair fending off several Rabid Dogs with what looked like a cross between a gun and a sword. He sent two Blizzard spells at the dogs, causing them to run off. The woman turned to him. She was rather pretty. She wore a white jacket that was buttoned halfway, revealing she had a navel piercing in the shape of a rose and a brown mini skirt. She wore combat boots and a red cape.

"Thanks, but I could have handled that myself." she said coldly. Ash shrugged.

"I'm sure you could have, with that sword of yours."

"Gunblade." she corrected. Ash nodded.

"So who are you?" Ash asked. "My name's Ash by the way." The woman stared at him.

"Lightning." she said simply. "What are you doing down here, kid?"

Ash was slightly miffed at being called a kid but answered nonetheless. "My friends and I were going to see Hades before we got seperated."

"Why?" she demanded. Ash was taken aback.

"To ask him to lay off one of our friends." Ash answered hesitantly. Lightning scowled.

"Don't bother!" she spat. She clenched her fist. "He'll either outright ignore you, or find a loophole, just piss you off!"

"What did he do to you?" Ash asked her gently. She rounded on him.

"That's none of your business!" she growled. Ash raised his hands in surrender.

"You're right," Ash agreed. "it was none of my business. I'm sorry."

Lightning took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "No, I'm sorry." she said quietly. "I shouldn't have taken it out on you."

"Well, if that's the way Hades is, my friends and I will just have to force him to." Ash remarked. He turned to her. "It sounds like you have a bone to pick with him, too. Why don't you come with me?"

She turned and stared at him. "I don't need your help." she said stiffly.

Ash blinked before shrugging and walking off. "Suit yourself." he said. He had walked about fifteen feet when he was interrupted.

"Fine!" Lightning growled. Ash smirked and kept walking towards the other end of the room with Lightning in tow.

* * *

Meanwhile in a room, inside a skull-like giant statue (or is it a rock?) where a blue skinned man with a blue flame for hair, black Roman robe, and black eyes (where the white part is colored yellow); is sitting at a chair irritated.

With man are two imp-like demons. One is fat and colored magenta, and the other is skinny and colored teal. Also with them is none other than Pete.

"Where do they dig these freaks up? Geez Louise," the blue skinned guy grumbled while sitting in his throne-like chair.

"Ah, they're nuttin' but trouble, the whole lot of 'em," Pete agreed. "Now, what are you going to do about Hercules? He's made mince meat outta every fighter you sent at 'im." Pete started to laugh. "Pretty soon the Underworld's going to be standing room only!" Then he suggested: "Say, why don't you pick someone already dead and save him the trouble?"

The blue guy got up a bit in outrage, scaring the fat bad guy and the two imps, but then he calmed down as he reconsider the idea. "Dead…" He said then brightens up at the idea. "Dead is good! And I know just the warrior." Pete and the two imps still looked worried.

"Oh man… He's got that look again…" The magenta imp mumbled to the teal imp.

"Y-Yeah, I-I just hope that nothing would go wrong…" the teal imp replied back.

Hades walked towards a large pit and began chanting. The pit turned into a gigantic swirling green vortex. Pete walked over and gulped.

"By the by, uh... What's down there?" he asked. Hades walked up to him.

"Just the Underworld's deepest dungeon." he said casually. "This time I'm bringing out the _mother _of all bad guys."

Pete looked up to the blue guy and saw how serious he was. Stepping back, he stuttered, "You d-don't say?" He backed up against the wall with the two imps. "Well… maybe I should go."

Hades summoned two fireballs in his hands and threw them into the pit. They exploded and some smoke rose out of the pit. The smoke slowly turned crimson, beginning to spark.

After a few moments, a figure stepped out of the dissipating smoke. The figure is a man with ruffled black hair with a vertical scar over his left eye, his face is partly hidden by his red jacket that's long and over his black suit with one of his arms out of the sleeve, hanging in the bag of the front of the jacket. A black belt went around his jacket, holding his arm back.

Once the figure's feet touched the ground, the pit behind him closed. The figure opened his right eye, as the left isn't functioning because of the cut, revealing his eye to be brown. Hades laughed, but became serious once again.

"Let's cut to the chase," he began, "Here's the deal I'm gonna offer you. I let you out of the slammer- no strings- you'll be as free as a bird." The man began looking around the place while the blue guy is talking, setting his eyes on Pete and the two imps (who backed to the wall in fear). "And all for one little job. Fight Hercules… in the Coliseum… to the death!"

The man, however, smirked. "This is _my _story," he began, "And you're not part of it." He rested his blade, that seemed to appear out of nowhere, on his shoulder.

The blue guy was outraged. "Did you forget you're _talking _to?" He demanded, "I am the Lord of the _Dead_!"

"Heh, no wonder no one wants to die." the man said. This was the scene that Ash and Lightning walked in upon.

The blue guy then turned red. "You are _fired_!" He roared then charged at the man, who blocked the attack with his sword. Ash summoned his Keyblades while Lightning drew her Gunblade.

"Hades!" Ash shouted. Hades spotted them, turning blue once more. His attention was drawn to the door opposite them, where three familiar figures emerged.

"You again?" Hades demanded. Sora and the others were confused, before they spotted Ash.

"Ash!" Sora cried. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

The man had attacked Hades while he was distracted and threw him back. "Fight!" he shouted at them. Lightning smirked.

"Don't have to tell me twice." she said as she charged at Hades. The blue man knocker her weapon away.

"You... you're that girl that wanted me to find her sister." Hades said before smirking. "Tell me, did you ever find her?"

"Shut up!" she roared. '_So that's why she hates Hades..._' Ash thought. Hades quickly turned red and tossed a fireball at the man, who dropped his guard there. He took the hit and was knocked down. Ash and Sora quickly ran over to see if he was okay.

"I'm fine, go!" he told them. Ash nodded and ran over to help out Lightning. She was knocked back, making her slide backwards.

"Something's wrong..." she muttered.

Hades smiled an evil smile at that. "That's right!" Hades said, "See, that's the thing. In the Underworld, heroes are zeroes. Comes with the territory." Ash charged at him and landed a three hit combo on him, knocking him backwards. Hades gaped at him before turning red. "How _dare_ you? How _dare_ you harm me in _my_ Underworld?" he screamed as the flames on his head reached enormous level. "_I am God of the Dead!" _Hades was furious.

"This isn't good..." Ash muttered as he stepped back. Hades threw a fireball at him, but it was deflected by the man from before.

"We can't fight him here," he insisted. "We have to go... now!"

"But I've got to talk to Hades!" Sora complained.

"Don't bother, Sora." Ash said. "He wouldn't help anyway." Ash ran over and grabbed Lightning by the shoulder. "Let's go." She growled at Hades one last time before she followed he and the others out.

As they left the chamber, Sora and Goofy quickly closed the door. Donald gasped for breath. "Is he gone?" he asked.

"Don't count on it." the man said.

"Huh?" Sora mumbled in confusion. He looked over to his right and gasped out "Whoa!" when he saw Hades, leaning against the wall next to them.

Hades smirked at their surprised looks. "Leaving so soon?" He asked.

A barrier came up to their side, blocking the exit and Heartless surrounded Hades. "Oh great…" Ash moaned sarcastically. They figured the Heartless are holding the barrier, so they took care of those first while ignoring Hades. Finally, they got back to the chamber, Sora, Donald and Goofy were on the ground, exhausted. Ash was leaning against the wall with Lightning. The older man wasn't fazed at all, and simply stood there waiting.

Sora looked at the man. "Wow, you're really good," Sora remarked. "Are you some kind of hero?"

The man shook his head 'no'. "No. I'm no hero. I'm just an…" he began, then paused for a moment. "Auron." Goofy and Sora exchanged confused glances. "My name."

After they gave out an 'Oh…', Sora got up. "I'm Sora," he introduced himself.

Donald jumped on Sora's back, causing him to lose balance. "Donald Duck!" Donald introduced himself.

Then Goofy jumped onto Donald, making Sora lose balance some more. "Goofy!" Goofy introduced himself, then Sora collapsed because of their weight. Auron looked at the two leaning against the wall.

"And you?"

Ash helped the three to their feet before he answered. "I'm Ash."

"Lightning."

Auron turned to Sora and smirked. "It seems we were fated to meet," he said, "Looks like you could use a guardian."

Sora pushed Donald and Goofy off of him. "Guardian?" He repeated, "Thanks but no thanks." He stubbornly started walking out of the chamber. Ash just shook his head and began to follow him, Lightning trailing after. Auron chuckled and followed.

* * *

"I've got my Heartless all over the Underworld now," Pete told Hades as the Lord of the Dead walked back into his chamber after giving chase to the others. "You can leave those pipsqueaks to me. You just focus on turning Hercules into a Heartless! Then he'll be all mine!"

Hades suddenly ignited. "This is _my _Underworld, you idiot!" He yelled, "I'll take care of it myself!" Pete quickly backed off. Hades looked out the window and snapped his fingers. A 20-foot three headed black dog with red eyes came up to it. "Cerberus, go!" He commanded. The dog started running after the six of them.

* * *

The six made it back to the entrance chamber and Donald tried to push the gate open. "What? It's closed!" he exclaimed. Sora and Goofy went to help him. It didn't budge.

"Come on, open!" Sora grunted. Ash noticed that the door was chained with a giant lock on it. '_If Sora can do it, so can I.'_ he thought as he summoned Oathkeeper.

"Will that open it?" Auron asked.

"It should." Ash responded. He pointed it at the lock, but then they heard a roar behind them.

"What's that?" Lightning shouted, getting the trio's attention.

"Hurry!" Auron shouted, resting his sword on his shoulder. Then Cerberus came from the ceiling from nowhere. Ash nodded and pointed his Keyblade to the lock again. A blue beam shot out from the tip and entered the lock. The lock clicked open and disappeared.

"Cool…" Ash said as Donald and Goofy opened the gate and went through. Before Cerberus could block their path, Auron blocked it with his sword. Ash and Sora were about to leave the cave too after Lightning went through, but they looked back at Auron. They hesitated, but they went back to Auron. A barrier formed itself in front of the gate, preventing Donald, Goofy and Lightning to help them in battle.

"Sora!" Donald and Goofy shouted. Lightning simply looked at Ash in concern.

Ash, Sora and Auron charged at the three-headed dog, with Sora and Auron attacking the heads on the sides and Ash attacking the center. They did considerable damage to Cerberus, but it got irritated, thus it spun around knocking Auron and Sora off. Ash was dragged along by the heads.

Ash managed to push the side heads away from him, then launched himself into the air. The center head was about to bite him until he blocked it with his Keyblade. One of the side heads tried to bite him there, but Ash pulled his Keyblade out and jumped into the air. He descended to the dogs and slammed into the top of the center head. "So long!" The center head slammed into the ground, causing the two other heads to slam into each other, knocking all three out at the same time. Needless to say, everyone else was amazed.

"Let's go before that thing wakes up!" Ash shouted, snapping them all back to reality. He, Sora and Auron ran out after the barrier fell. He and Auron began pushing the gate closed. The dog saw it closing and ran up to it snarling. Sora, Donald and Goofy taunted Cerberus as the gate closed and Cerberus crashed into it.

"Whew…" Sora muttered. Ash noticed something and looked around.

"Hey, where did Auron go?" He asked. Indeed, Auron was gone.

Sora shrugged. "He can take care of himself," he said casually. "Let's just go back to the Coliseum and meet up with Meg. Then we can try this again."

Ash just sighed as he followed them. Lightning followed silently.

* * *

Meanwhile, Meg was in the Coliseum lobby with the red-orange haired man. "C'mon Wonderboy, play hooky for the day," Meg insisted.

The man, known as Hercules or 'Wonderboy' to Meg, shook his head. "Sorry Meg, but I can't," he apologized. "They needed me… They came to see a hero." He stood up. "Besides, what does a hero need a rest for?" He tried to flex his arm muscles, but couldn't due to his fatigue. He waved her bye with a smile and walked to the arena. Though he sighed tiredly.

Meg sighed. "Sora, Ash… don't let me down…" She whispered to herself.

* * *

Hades and Pete were silent in his chamber.

"So let's see if I got this right…" Hades began. "That brats' Keyblades work on _any _lock?"

"That's right!" Pete replied.

Hades laughed evilly. "Did I ever tell you about the _killer _coliseum we have right here in the Underworld?" He asked. Pete shook his head. "It makes the one upstairs look like an Olympic kiddie pool."

Pete slammed his fists on the table. "Then that's where we're going to end Herc the Jerk's winning streak!" He exclaimed.

"Problem," Hades interrupted. "Zeus locked it tight." Pete groaned at that. He noticed Hades looking at him, then his eyes widen as it hit him. "Exactly," Hades agreed, seeing that he'd gotten it. "Now, all we have to do is swipe that Keyblade and reopen the Underdrome!"

Pete chuckled evilly, but frowned. "But that Keyblade's kinda particular," he added in some bad news. "It won't work for just anybody. And those kids are no pushovers, either."

Hades thought about this. "I think this calls for a woman's touch," he said. He snapped his fingers, and a statue of Megara appeared in his hand.

* * *

Sora pushed open the Coliseum gates. The bright structure of Olympus Coliseum came into view. The five marveled at the sight before them. "Gawrsh, this sure brings back memories!" Goofy remarked.

"So this is the Coliseum?" Ash asked as he looked around. "At least we're out in the sun again."

"You can say that again." Sora said as they walked towards the Coliseum. Ash hung back and walked with Lightning.

"So, you asked Hades to help you find your sister. But he tricked you, huh?" Ash asked. She sighed and nodded.

"My sister, Serah." she whispered so only he would hear. "I haven't seen her in a long time, she's the only family I have left." Ash put a comforting hand on her shoulder. The doors swung open and Hercules slowly walked out. He sighed, tired, then he rejoiced as he saw the trio. "Sora! Donald! Goofy!" He exclaimed happily. "When'd you get here?"

"Hey Herc!" Sora said with a wave.

"Hi!" Donald shouted.

"Howdy there!" Goofy greeted him.

"You on another adventure?" he asked walking up to them as Meg appeared in the doorway.

Sora scratched his neck. "Yeah, trackin' down some friends, wipin' out some Heartless."

Herc laughed and he clasped hands with Sora. "Junior heroes, always busy!"

Sora grinned back. "You know it!"

The hero then noticed Ash and Lightning for the first time. "Oh, and who are these tow?"

"Hey there," Ash waved. "Ash Ketchum, and this is Lightning."

"Nice to meet you!" Herc said, patting him on the back. Ash's knees buckled but he managed to remain standing. All of them went into the lobby. Ash took a look at the trophies Sora and the others won.

"We usually come here to compete in the games," Goofy explained, "And at that area is where the Keyhole to this world used to be." He said, pointing to an open area.

"So, have you found those friends of yours yet?" Herc asked them as he sat on a pedestal.

Sora shook his head. "Still working on it." he said. "When we got here, we ran into Meg-"

Ash cut him off. "Mega trouble! So we had to help somebody out." he said poking Sora with his elbow. Meg smiled gratefully and Sora rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Y- yeah!" Sora recovered. "We tried to go teach Hades a thing or two, but the Underworld drains all our strength."

"Don't suppose you have any ideas?" Ash asked hopefully. Hercules looked thoughtful.

"Well..." he began. "there is a stone that guards against the Underworld's curse. The gods on Mount Olympus use it whenever they have to go down there."

Sora's face brightened. "Think we could use it?"

Herc smiled. "Sure, why not!" he said as he hopped off the pedestal. "I'll go get it for you."

"Thanks!" Ash grinned. He turned to Lightning and whispered, "Then we can go teach Hades a lesson about playing with people's feelings." Lightning turned to him and graced him with a small smile.

"But Hades is no pushover, even if you've got the Olympus Stone." Herc warned. "And I have a match today, so I can't go with you..." A light bulb went off in Herc's head. "Know what you need? Training! Why don't you talk to Phil?"

"Hey!" Sora exclaimed. "Good idea!"

Ash turned to his female companion. "What do you think?"

She nodded. "It's always a good idea to prepare before a big encounter." Ash nodded and the two followed the others out the door. The five of them walked into the arena where they saw a two-foot man with goat legs, horns, a goatee, and a mid-aged man belly; walking around some pots and looking at them.

Sora was about to greet him when he said, "How're feeling champ?" It seems to the trio, the goat man thought Sora is Herc. "Ya gotta rest up for tomorrow's match. No one doesn't want to see a hero all tired and worn out, capice? And remember those two things that I told you to keep in mind." He held out two fingers. "Eat, bathe, and sleep."

Now, while the goat man was pointing them out, Goofy counted them with his own fingers, getting three. Sora and Ash laughed at Phil's miscalculation.

The goat man heard the laugh, and turned around to pummel the person until he saw the trio. He was surprised to see the trio. "Hey, if it isn't the junior heroes!" He cheered.

"Lookin' good, Phil." Sora said, smiling at the satyr.

"Never better," he replied, then he asked: "So, you finally earned your 'true hero' wings yet?"

The trio's silence spoke for them. "Nope, you ain't got what it takes," Phil concluded.

"WHA?" Sora, Donald and Goofy complained. Phil finally noticed the other two.

"'Ey, who's this?" he asked pointing at Ash and Lightning.

"This is Ash and... erm... Lightning?" Sora asked for confirmation. Lightning nodded stiffly.

"Hmm, so you here to become heroes too?" Phil asked crossing his arms. Ash sweat dropped.

"Er, no." he replied.

"No?" Phil asked surprised. Sora, Donald and Goofy looked at him surprised. "Pretty much everyone who comes here is lookin' to be a hero."

"I must be a first then." Ash grinned.

"But he's pretty much a hero already." Sora exclaimed. "He saved all those people on his world!"

"I just did what I had to." Ash told him. Sora was about to say something when they heard Phil laughing.

"Now _that's_ a hero's attitude!" he said with a grin. He looked thoughtful. "Hey, kid. You look kinda familiar, we met before?"

"I don't think so." Ash said. '_Wait, did he meet __Xhäs?_'

"You sure?" Phil continued. "Well, if you wanna be a hero, then you came to the right place. You got what it takes, you got potential." '_He reminds me of those other three..._' Phil thought to himself.

"So, what's up with you guys lately?" Phil asked, changing the subject.

"Well, we need to train so we can take on Hades," Sora replied.

"You? Take on Hades?" Phil repeated, then he laughed at them. He stopped laughing when he noticed them glaring and cleared his throat. "Anyway, if you want to take him on, then train hard. Got it?"

"You bet!" Sora said as he, Donald and Goofy entered the area with the pots.

"Well, this will be interesting..." Ash said, he was planning to watch when he felt himself be dragged away. He looked to see Lightning dragging him to a secluded area littered with various obstacles. "Lightning?"

"You. Me. Spar. Now." she grunted. Ash blinked as she walked a short distance away. She turned to face him, drawing her Gunblade and took a stance.

Ash summoned his Keyblades as he entered combat mode.

Lightning charged him before feinting left. Ash parried the blow and pivoted slashing at her abdomen. She flipped backwards, avoiding the blow. She lunged, slashing her blade upward. Ash sidestepped, but was caught off guard when she suddenly pivoted, slashing at his stomach. He barely blocked it when she continued her barrage, taking advantage of his surprise. He strikes were incredibly fast and precise. Finesse and agility. "You'll have to to better than that!" Ash smirked.

'_She's fast, but I'm faster!_' Ash thought as he ducked her side slash and tripped her. He did a series of flips to gain distance.

"Show off." Lightning accused with a smirk. Ash smirked back and hurled both Keyblades at her. She deflected the first one, but had to dodge the second. This was all that Ash needed, as he was already within striking distance. He summoned back his blades and the assault began. He was pushing her back steadily by raining blows on her Gunblade. He suddenly flipped back, catching her by surprise, as she had lifted her Blazefire Saber to defend. He then lunged, using the extra force to losen her grip on the blade. He then used the teeth of Oblivion to catch it in its grip and ripped in from her hands, tossing it aside. In a flash both Keyblades were at her throat, in a position reminiscent of a pair of scissors.

Ash could see the shock in her eyes, which slowly turned to acceptance and respect. "Good duel." Ash complimented.

"Yeah.." she said. They turned to see Sora, Donald, Goofy and Phil staring at them in amazement.

"Nice fightin', kid." Phil complimented. "You sure you don't want no training?"

Ash grinned. "You sure are eager about this, Phil." he teased. Phil stammered, making them all laugh at him. There attention was drawn to the exit, as Hercules walked through. Phil walked up to him.

"Listen, I gotta take off for a bit." the satyr said.

"Where to?" Sora asked curiously.

"None of your beeswax." Phil said. Sora sighed as the satyr walked off. They turned back to Herc.

"Sorry, guys..." the hero appologized. "The Olympus Stone has been stolen."

"What?" Sora exclaimed.

"By who?" Ash asked. Herc shook his head.

"We don't know who did it yet." he told them. "All we're sure of is that it was a guy in a black-hooded cloak. And he had accomplices - a bunch of creatures in white." Sora, Ash, Donald and Goofy all looked at each other in alarm. Lightning remained silent. "Someone you know?" Herc asked.

"I think so." Sora said slowly. "Hey, if we can get the Olympus Stone back, can we borrow it for a while?"

"Sure." Herc smiled. "By the way, have you seen Meg?"

"No." they answered.

"Oh," Herc said disappointed. "okay..."

"Feeling under the weather?" a voice asked from behind Herc. A blue hand lay on his shoulder. Herc spun around and glared at Hades. "You know, I thought staying in perfect shape was part of the hero job description... you know what I'm sayin'."

"Oh, right..." Sora muttered then spoke in a louder voice. "Hades, we gotta talk!"

Hades rolled his eyes and flicked him in between the eyes, sending Sora to the ground. Everyone sweat dropped. "I came to share a bit of mildly-interesting news: Seems your dear, sweet little _Nutmeg_..." he disappeared, as Herc was about to attack him and reappeared behind him. "went and got herself lost in the Underworld."

"You mean you kidnapped her!" Herc accused.

"_Well, maybe_..." Hades said casually. "But why get caught up in the details?" Hercules whistled and a white stallion with blue hair and white wings and a unicorn horn flew to him. Hercules was about to get on until Hades said, "You can't leave now, okay? You've got a very important match today, against, um... the bloodthirsty Hydra! I mean, if you don't stick around, who knows what kind of 'accidents' might happen."

"Yeah, accidents you cause." Sora accused.

"You're sick, Hades." Lightning said.

"Like I said: details, who needs 'em?"

"You're just a coward!" Herc yelled.

"Aw well." Hades said disappearing. "Can't all be heroes."

Herc crossed his arms, closing his eyes. Sora walked over and tapped him on the shoulder. "Can you handle this?" he asked.

"You got it!" Donald said with his hands on his hips. "We're heroes!"

"Junior heroes, Donald." Goofy corrected. Donald just glared at him.

"You take care of the Hydra." Sora said.

Ash nodded. "We'll take care of the rest."

Herc put his hands on Sora and Ash's shoulders. "I'm counting on you guys." He turned to the horse. "Pegasus, you gotta find Meg." he ordered. Pegasus nodded and took off, flying.

Sora turned to Ash, Donald and Goofy. "Alright, let's go!" he said as they ran off towards the Underworld's entrance.

"I'm going with you." Lightning called. Ash turned to her.

"Whatever you way, Lightning." Ash said as he turned. She nodded and he turned back.

"And, Ash?" she called again. He turned to her curiously. She gave him a small smile. "Call me Light."

* * *

"Phil!" Sora shouted as they saw the satyr laying on the ground.

"Ooh, ohh..." Phil groaned as he got up.

"What happened?" Ash asked him.

"I spotted this strange guy all dressed in black." Phil explained. "I chased after him, but he turned on me. Next thing I know, I'm seeing stars."

"Dressed in black?" Donald exclaimed. "He's the one who stole the Olympus Stone."

"Where'd he go?" Ash asked. Phil gestured to the large door.

"To the Underworld." all of them turned towards the large door. "He's a bad apple, alright. And all I wanted was to find a backup hero. Just in case Herc needed to take a break."

"Down here?" Ash asked incredulously. Phil smiled sheepishly.

"Heroes, eh?" Sora asked. "You could have just asked!"

"You're right!" Phil said. "Hey, kid. You wanna fill in for Herc?" he asked Ash, completely ignoring Sora. He, Donald and Goofy fell over.

"I meant us!" Sora shouted.

"Oh, good one..." Phil chuckled. Sora just sighed and began walking towards the door, hanging his head. A dark cloud was raining on him which he didn't seem to notice. Everyone sweat dropped as they followed him. They had to fight their way through Heartless and a blinding fog. They eventually made it out of the mist and saw a black cloaked person standing with their back turned.

"Huh?" the person, a young male, asked as he heard their footsteps. "Ah! You!" he cried in alarm.

"So that's the thief?" Lightning asked unimpressed. The Nobody bristled and took off his hood to reveal short blonde hair. He stared at Sora and Ash.

"Wait a sec..." he muttered. "Roxas?"

Sora blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Roxas?" the Nobody tried again before groaning. "Oh, its no use."

"What are you talking about?" Sora demanded. The Nobody turned to Ash.

"What about you?" the Nobody asked him. For some reason, Ash understood what he meant.

"I'm not going back..." Ash answered. His friends looked at him confused. A name flashed in Ash's mind. "Demyx."

"Haha, so you remember me? What an honor!" the Nobody, Demyx said, taking out a slip of paper. "Let's see, here... 'If the subjects fail to respond, use aggression to liberate their true dispositions'... Right... Did they ever pick the wrong guy for this one..." he muttered the last part while putting the paper away.

"You're bizarre..." Sora said shaking his head. He gasped when Demyx took out a round object.

"So you _are_ the thief!" Goofy accused.

"Now that's just plain rude!" Demyx said as he raised the stone. It glowed gold as he was bathed in its light. He pulled out a blue sitar and the five got into battle stances. "Dance water, dance!" he cried as a hundred water forms appeared. They lunged at the water forms. Ash grabbed one by the tail and began flailing it about, destroying all its bretheren along with it. Sora grinned and copied him.

Donald was casting Thunder on the forms while Goofy hurled his shield at them. Lightning transformed her blade into gun mode and was firing rounds at them. Within thirty seconds, the forms were all gone. Demyx was panting heavily. Ash's eyes flashed with memory.

"You never were the fighter..." Ash muttered. Demyx sighed.

"Roxas, Xhäs... come back to us!" he said as he disappeared.

Sora rested his Keyblade on his shoulder. "Guys a broken record." he blinked and turned to Ash, who was picking up the Olympus Stone. "Alright, Ash. Explanations please."

"Yeah," Goofy said. "You seemed to know that guy."

"And who is Roxas?" Sora asked. "And Xhäs?"

Ash sighed. He wasn't looking forward to this. "I'm not sure who Roxas is." he told them. "But Xhäs... is... my Nobody."

Sora, Donald and Goofy blinked before their eyes widened. "WHAT?" Lightning just looked confused.

"What are you all talking about?" she demanded. They spent a few moments filling her in on the Nobodies and Orangization XIII. "So... if a Nobody is created by someone being turned into a Heartless, then how are you here?"

Ash smiled sheepishly. "Mine was a special case."

"Was?" Sora asked.

"Right after I lost my heart, it was returned to me. I was revived." Ash explained, not wanting to have to explain the whole thing. "He resides in my heart now. As we speak, we are still becoming one." Ash's eyes flashed with memory once again. This time the others noticed as well. "My Nobody was the original No. 13. Xhäs: The Forgotten Key." The others let all the information sink in.

"So what do you know about the Organization?" Sora asked eagerly.

"I don't have all his memories." Ash shook his head. "Just random tidbits come to me." Sora looked down in disappointment. "Anyway, we're wasting time! We're supposed to be rescuing Meg!"

"Oh, right!" Sora exclaimed. Ash looked at the stone and raised it above his head. All of them were bathed in the glow of the Olympus Stone.

"I can feel my stength returning." Lightning said in relief.

"Let's go!" Sora said. "Meg needs our help!"

* * *

There was a huge stone with the figure of Megara on the front and a keyhole in the center. It locked up a pillar of black and blue darkness. Sora pointed his Keyblade at it and unlocked it. A bright flash filled up the whole area and the rock was gone. There was a pillar of light instead.

"Meg!" Donald shouted.

"Almost there," Sora remarked, then they all stepped into the depression. The next thing they knew, they appeared in a big cavern. There was Meg, and Hades was next to her.

"Gee," Hades said in mock appreciation, "thank you so much!" After a moment, he muttered, "Now have a nice day," and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Hang on Meg!" Ash said as he broke the bonds off of her.

Meg smiled at that, then she gasped. "Watch out!" She shouted, pointing behind them.

They turned and saw Pete, and a bunch of Hook Bat Heartless. "Aw, what's the matter?" Pete teased as the quintet brought out their weapons. "Can't fight in the Underworld? Boo-hoo-hoo!" Pete laughed.

"Better think again..." Sora muttered.

"Charge!" Pete shouted. The Hook Bats surrounded them, but the quintet took them all out. Pete summoned more, but Lightning shot them out of the air. Soldiers began appearing.

"Ugh!" Sora grunted as he took out another Hook Bat, "There's too many!"

Then some Hook Bats collided with Pete from behind. Hercules ran up to them. "Sorry I'm late," he said. Pete got up, but Pegasus came down and clopped Pete on the head, making him go down stunned again.

Hercules put Meg on Pegasus and ordered, "You guys get Meg out of here. I'll meet you guys up at the Coliseum."

Sora was confused. "What are you going to do?" He asked.

Hercules smirked and jabbed his thumb back to Pete, who got up from his double whammy. "I'm going to show these guys what happens when they mess with a true hero," he replied.

They were reassured by this, and so they ran out of the cavern. Pete tried to follow, but Hercules got in his way.

* * *

They all reappeared back at the lock area, and Pegasus landed next to the quintet. "I'm not leaving him," Meg insisted.

"He'll be fine," Sora reassured.

"Look, even Wonderboy has his limits. He can't keep winning forever," Meg pointed out.

"Then we'll go back Herc up!" Ash suggested.

"Get Meg out of here!" Donald shouted to Pegasus. The winged horse flew out of sight, along with Megara.

The quintet went back and appeared next to Hercules. Sora and Hercules nodded at each other, and faced Pete and his Heartless. Ash felt a slight rumbling beneath him. "Aw no! The cavern is going to collapse!" He announced to the others. That means they had to beat Pete before that happened.

Sora jumped up and started attacking Pete. Donald, Goofy and Lightning focused on the Hook Bats. Pete formed a barrier around himself. "Ha, Pete's invincible!" He shouted.

Ash grinned and slammed into the barrier with both Keyblades, using them like a baseball bat. "Grand slam!" he yelled, sending Pete flying and bouncing everywhere.

And because of the barrier rolling around, Pete is getting green at the face. Fortunately (for him), Hercules punched the barrier, breaking it and sending Pete flying.

By now, the Heartless were taken care of. Pete got up. "Grr… I'll get you pipsqueaks for this later!" He shouted to them. "This place is starting to give me the creeps." He then ran out of the cavern. The rumbling took on a greater intensity, and they all ran out of there.

* * *

They came back to the Underworld entrance, meeting up with Meg, Pegasus and Phil. "Well, well, well. You really blew it this time, didn't you?" Hades' voice asked from overhead. He appeared behind the group. "So, Blunderboy, you're just a washout after all."

Sora grinned. "No one likes a sore loser," he said.

"Can it, Keyboy!" Hades growled.

"Then let me." Herc smirked. He walked up to Hades and said, "No one likes a sore loser, Hades."

Hades walked away. "Yeah, yeah, Styx and stones." he said casually. "Hey, maybe you should go check on that Hydra you neglected to finish off. I hear things are really falling apart up there." He disappeared. "Sorry to go so soon, but I have another diversion to attend to."

"Wait!" Sora cried.

"Falling apart?" Ash repeated. "That can't be good..." He followed as Hercules ran up the stairs. He stopped at the entrance to the Coliseum and let his jaw drop. Herc fell to his knees.

"This can't be..." he muttered. The Coliseum was in ruins. Sora ran out and barely dodged a piece of rubble flying at him. They looked up to see a giant dragon-like creature destroying everything. Phil, Meg and Pegasus ran over to Herc.

"Champ!" Phil sighed in relief. "You're safe!"

"I failed..." he whispered.

"It's not your fault!" Meg insisted.

"I left everyone unprotected." he suddenly slammed his fist into the ground. "Hades was right. I'm just a... a washout."

"Aw, come on, champ!" Phil snapped. "I didn't train you to think like that!"

"Wonderboy..."

"Phil's right." Sora said running up to them. "This is no time to beat yourself up."

Herc clutched his head. "I'm some hero..." The Hydra looked over to them and roared. Ash ran over to them.

"Herc!" he shouted. "Snap out of it!" When he didn't respond, Ash growled. "This isn't the time to be wallowing in self-pity like some pathetic _child_!" Herc turned to him in shock, as did everyone else. "I'm not going to lie. This _is_ your fault..." Herc looked down in shame.

"Ash!" Sora hissed. Phil just stared at him, waiting to see what would happen.

"...you made a huge mistake, that means _you_ have to fix it. Take responsibility for your actions! This isn't something you can just blow off because you feel like it! Right now, this isn't about you, these people need your help. They need their hero! I'm not going to _baby _you. You're a fully grown man, _act like it_!"

"Ash..." Meg began.

"No..." Herc whispered. They all turned to him in shock. He looked up, determination burning in his eyes. "He's right. This is my fault, and I'm going to fix it!" He turned to Ash. "Thanks, Ash."

Ash smirked. "Don't mention it." Herc turned to all of them.

"I'll need your help."

"Then you've got it!" Ash replied. The others nodded, still in shock over Ash's motivation speech. Herc grinned and the six of them went on to face the Hydra.

"That Ash kid is really something." Phil commented. Meg stared after them.

"He sure is..." she muttered.

* * *

The Hydra collapsed before them. Herc stabbed it in the head with his sword, ending its life. He then collapsed onto the broken steps of the Coliseum. "Give yourself a chance to rest," Meg ordered Hercules as they sat on the remaining steps. She glanced at the quintet. "Sora, Donald, Goofy, Lightning... Ash; I owe you big time."

"Ash." Phil said from behind them.

"What is it, Phil?" Ash asked curiously. Hercules quickly stood, despite Meg's protests, and stood next to Phil.

"Though, we can't do it officially," he began then straightened up and spoke more formally. Herc looked proud. "I hereby dub thee: True Hero!"

"Wha?" Ash asked incredulously. Sora, Donald and Goofy gaped.

"The skill, the attitude, the determination, the courage, the motivation: You've got it all, kid." Phil said.

"Hey!" Sora said excitedly. "What about us?"

"Mmmm..." he said inspecting them. "Hmm... nope." They fell over.

"Aw, man!" Sora said.

"Don't worry, you'll get there." Herc assured them. "As long as you train hard."

"Well, let me be the first to congratulate you." Lightning said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks..." Ash muttered. He looked at her in concern. "What are you going to do now?"

She shrugged. "I'll hang out around here for a while, help out with reconstruction and all."

Herc nodded. "We appreciate the help."

"Let us know if Hades or the Heartless start acting up." Sora said with a smile. "We'll take care of it!"

"Yeah, that's what heroes are for!" Donald exclaimed.

"Junior heroes, Donald." Goofy corrected. "Ash is the hero." Donald glared at both Goofy and Ash. Ash sweat dropped.

"Well, anyway..." Sora said sweat dropping as well. "We have to hit the road."

Meg smiled. "Okay, don't be strangers."

"We look forward to your next visit." Herc waved.

Lightning placed her hands on Ash's shoulders. "Take care of yourself." she glanced at Sora and the others. "You too. Whatever your names are." Everyone fell over.

"You don't even know our names?" Sora asked in disbelief.

"No, nor do I really care." she turned back to Ash. "I'll see you again."

"Well, time to go." Sora said sweat dropping. "Oh! The Olympus Stone!"

"That's right." Ash said as he took it out. It suddenly began glowing. Ash and Sora looked at each other and nodded. They quickly opened the gate.

"What was that?" Herc asked.

"The gate is open." Ash said. "We'll be seeing you guys." They waved as the Gummi Ship beamed them up once more.

* * *

At a castle far from where the heroes are, a mouse-like being in a pink and red dress is looking at the skewed row of books in the library. "Hmm…" she mumbled, "I wonder where that old album could be?"

"QUEEN MINNIE!" She heard a squeaky voice call to her. She turned and saw two chipmunks, one with a black nose and the other with a red nose, running as fast as they could to her. They started jumping, like they had seen something horrible.

"There's some wrong in the Hall of the Cornerstone!" The red nosed chipmunk shouted.

"There are a lot of thorns everywhere!" The black nose chipmunk added. They ran back to the direction from where they came with the queen following them.

They went to the 'Hall of the Cornerstone' and Queen Minnie gasped as she saw big pointy thorns all over the place. Looking solemn, she said, "Oh, King Mickey, please come back soon. The castle is in danger! Donald, Goofy… Where are you?" She looked up at the ceiling, hoping that they would hear her…

* * *

**A/N: This was a REALLY long chapter... Over 9000! Seriously! 9,191 words!**

**Omake**

**Sora leapt at the Hydra slashing at it with his Keyblade. He watched in horror as two more heads grew in the place of the one he just decapitated. He was about to attack again when he heard Phil shouting.**

**"Get up on the Hydra's back!" Sora ignored him. As did everyone else. This annoyed him. "Get up on the Hydra's back!" Sora continued to ignore him. **

******"Get up on the Hydra's back!"**

**********"Get up on the Hydra's back!"**

**************"Get up on the Hydra's back!"**

******************"Get up on the H-"**

******************"STFU!" **


	14. Terra

**A/N: GASP! Another update! I'm such a beast! Of course most of it is just game dialog, but still! Something has been brought to my attention. I've been focusing so much on Ash that I totally ignored Sora! I apologize for this, I will do my best to include him, I just need to find the right places. I usually post these chapters as soon as I finish them. That's why I update so fast. (That's also why they have so many holes in them) I think this one is one of my less than good chapters. Okay! Now that I'm done, I think I'm gonna pass out now. BTW my spell check system is still bugging out.**

**Chapter 14 of Pokemon: Keyblade Masters**

**

* * *

**

"So, where to Cap'n?" Ash asked. Sora thought about it. Suddenly the ship shook.

"Whoa!" Ash cried. "The ship is moving on its own again!"

Goofy looked out the window and gasped. "Hey that's mine and Donald's world!"

Everyone looked out again and saw a white cartoony castle looming in the horizon. "Hey, it is! Disney Castle!" Donald shouted as the ship flew to the world.

* * *

The ship slowly made its way into the hangar and parked there. The door opened up and they walked out onto the ground.

"So this is your castle?" Sora asked. He looked back at Donald and Goofy, who were looking around. "Must be nice to be home, huh?" He remarked.

Donald and Goofy were looking around in concern. "Hmm..." Donald grumbled.

"I don't know why, but something… doesn't feel quite right here," Goofy concurred.

"Yeah." Donald agreed.

"Really?" Ash asked.

"You're back!" They heard a squeaky voice behind them. They looked back and saw two chipmunks running to them. The trio recognized them.

"Chip! Dale!" Donald exclaimed at the two chipmunks.

"The castle's in danger!" Dale, the red nosed chipmunk, shouted. "We desperately need your help!"

"Queen Minnie needs you!" Chip added, yelling. "She's in the library!"

"There's no time to waste then!" Sora exclaimed as he ran out the hangar, the others following.

Sora pushed the door open. He and Ash were surprised to find themselves in a topiary garden of some sort. "Wow… nice garden…" Ash remarked as he took a step forward. Then Heartless appeared around them. Some are bomb shaped Heartless with thin little legs; called Minute Bomb Heartless. They took care of those quickly.

"So, where's the library?"

They finally got inside the castle. They were in a big hallway, with an equally big door in the middle. But the door was sealed by a purple light and the King's emblem. There was a much more comfortably sized door at the end that probably led to the library. Suddenly a massive amount of Shadows appeared.

Sora ran forward and entered his Drive form. Goofy disappeared into Sora's clothes and Sora took out the Shadows within seconds. "That was fast." Ash remarked slightly dizzy from trying to keep up. "We should let you take care of things more often, Sora."

"Hurry, we've gotta get to the library!" Sora called as Goofy reappeared. Without another word, they ran into the library.

* * *

They approached Queen Minnie, whom Donald and Goofy saluted. "Your Majesty! Queen Minnie! We're back!" Donald reported.

Queen Minnie looked happy to see them. "You're here!" She cheered.

"Your Royal Highness, did you happen to summon us?" Goofy asked

"Yes," she replied. Sora walks over to Donald and Goofy with Ash. He placed a hand on Donald's head and Goofy's shoulder.

"Where's the King?" he asked. Minnie gave him a funny look. Donald pulled him down.

"Excuse him." he said as he pulled Ash down as well. "These are our friends, Sora and Ash."

"Oh, Sora!" Minnie exclaimed. "The King told me all about you in his letters. Hey mentioned you too, Ash. He said that you're both very brave young men."

'_How would he know, I've only met him once..._' Ash thought. Sora scratched his nose in embarrassment.

"So, do you know where he is?" Sora asked hopefully. Ash listened intently. He had a few questions for the King. Unfortunately, Minnie shook her head. They all sighed.

Donald perked back up. "You Majesty, what are the Heartless doing in your castle?" Donald asked.

"Oh my..." Minnie said quietly. "So _those _are the Heartless."

"Don't worry, we'll take care of 'em!" Sora said confidently.

"I know I can count on you, Sora." Minnie smiled. "Now, there's something I'd like _all _of you to come and see. Would you please escort me to the audience chamber?" All of them snapped into salute.

"Hut!" She suddenly gasped, making them blink at her.

"I forgot to warn everyone else in the castle about the danger!" she exclaimed in worry. "We must be sure they're hidden somewhere safe!"

"Okay, we'll go tell them." Sora said.

"The whole castle?" Donald exclaimed.

"We just gotta split up, Donald." Goofy said.

"I'll make sure that everyone knows what's going on." Sora told her.

"No, Sora, you'll just get lost!" Donald argued.

"Okay, we'll just stay with the queen." Sora said indicating he and Ash.

"Good!" "Alrighty then, see ya later!" The two ran off to warn the castle.

Sora turned to the Queen. "Um, the audience chamber, right, ma'am?"

"Yes, Sora." she nodded. "Let's be on our way."

* * *

As soon as they came out, they were attacked by the Heartless. Ash distracted them while Sora led the Queen to the large door. As soon as the Heartless were gone, Ash came up to the other two.

"Just one moment," Minnie commanded. She held out her hand to the door. "As soon as the trouble started," she explained, "I made sure to seal this room." The seal dissipated after she said those words. A smaller door opened in front of them. "Now, shall we?"

As they walked in, Sora looked around for Heartless. There didn't seem to be anything… until a bunch of Bolt Towers dropped down from above. Minnie gasped at the sight of them. "Not here too!" She exclaimed in horror. Ash and Sora summoned their Keyblades.

"Don't worry; we got them!" Ash reassured.

"Ash, you guard the Queen while I take care of them!" Sora commanded.

Ash nodded and glanced at the Queen. "We need to get to the throne!" Minnie said.

"Right!" Ash said. Sora charged at the Heartless while Ash led the Queen to the throne. The Heartless were so busy with Sora, they didn't have time to go after Ash and Queen Minnie.

As soon as Ash and Minnie got to the throne, Sora got to them. The three looked back at the Heartless. "Aw, give us a break already!" Ash shouted in annoyance.

Meanwhile, Minnie stepped to the throne's side, looking for something. After a moment, she pressed a button under the left arm of the throne. All of a sudden, the whole platform started moving to the side and an immense amount of light shone from under it.

When the light subsided, all the Heartless were gone. "Woah!" The duo exclaimed.

Ash looked at the Queen. "What just happened?" He asked.

The Queen didn't answer, but she started walking down the staircase that was under the platform. "This next room is called the Hall of the Cornerstone," she explained. "This castle has always been protected from evil worlds thanks to the Cornerstone of Light we have in this room."

The duo was confused. "The Cornerstone… of Light?" Sora asked. The duo followed her to the Hall. Donald and Goofy came to them and joined them in the room. They came to a room where dark looking thorns are at. And in the center of the room is a giant orb of light sitting upon a pedestal.

"Whoa..." Ash muttered at the sight of the thorns. It reminded Ash of when he had to watch over Celebi when they were on their Battle Frontier quest.

Ash took a closer look at the Cornerstone. There seemed to be a dark shade in the very center of it. "The Cornerstone of Light… look at it now," Minnie moaned.

Suddenly, a bunch of dark green flames popped up out of nowhere in front of the Cornerstone of Light. Maleficent's image appeared in its place. "Maleficent!" Donald shouted.

"That's Maleficent?" Ash shouted at the sight of her.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" Maleficent mused. "If it isn't the retched Keyblader and his pitiful lackeys!" She looked over at Ash. "And the new brat." Ash growled.

"What?" Donald cried indignantly. "Now you're gonna deal with me!" He charged at her.

"All in good time." she laughed as Donald passed right through her and crashed into the pedestal. "I promise you'll be able to partake of my vengeance. But you must be patient."

"Just what are you doing here, Maleficent?" Minnie demanded.

"Ah, Queen Minnie. Radiant as always." she said sarcastically. "I'm here on a property venture. I want this castle for my own. However, it's a bit too... bright for what I have in mind. I suppose I'll just have to fill every room with my personal touch of darkness!" She tried to touch the Cornerstone, but she was repelled by a bright barrier.

Sora pulled his Keyblade out. "You better stop if you know what's good for you!" Minnie shouted.

"Ooh, how frightening." Maleficent said sarcastically. "Very well. I'll stop... Just as soon as the castle belongs to me!" She added, then she disappeared in dark green flames and she laughed evilly.

"What a hag," Sora growled.

"Something like this has never happened before," Minnie said worriedly. "I searched the records in the library, but I couldn't find a single clue."

Goofy got an idea. "Then we'll just have to ask someone who knows lotsa stuff that isn't in any book!" He said.

Donald got it. "Merlin the Wizard!" Donald exclaimed.

Minnie immediately liked the idea. "Merlin should definitely help us!" She cheered.

"We just saw him in Hollow Bastion right?" Goofy asked, "So we should go back there and get him!"

"Yeah!" Sora said, then turned to Ash. "Ash, stay here with the Queen and make sure nothing else goes wrong." he commanded. Ash saluted.

"Sir, yes, sir!" Sora rolled his eyes as the Gummi Ship beamed them up. "Well, now we wait." Ash said to the Queen.

* * *

"Hey! Anyone home?" Sora shouted when they entered Merlin's house. The house is empty, with no one around, too.

The trio walked in and looked around for the wizard. "Merlin!" Donald shouted. "Where are you?"

"The castle's in danger!" Goofy added.

Just then, a puff of smoke appeared and Merlin replaced it. "Oh, I thought… never mind," Merlin said. He took a look on Sora. "Seems like you've learned a lot since the last time I saw you."

"Really?" Sora asked.

"HEY HANG A SECOND!" Donald interrupted, "We need to talk about the problem we're having! It's Maleficent! She's back!"

"Where?" Merlin gasped, "Inside the castle?"

"Yeah!" Goofy replied, "And she brought the Heartless with him, too!"

"Oh dear…" Merlin sighed.

Donald began the explanation. "Maleficent wants to take over the castle and she filled the Hall of the Cornerstone with thorns and Heartless and the Heartless are everywhere in the castle and Queen Minnie is in danger and…" Donald looked around, seeing they were already back in the Hall of the Cornerstone.

"Perhaps, I'd better just see for myself." Merlin said. Sora looked around and became worried.

"Where's Ash?" he asked the Queen. The others looked around to find the young trainer nowhere in sight. The Queen looked down. Sora, Donald and Goofy began to panic.

"Well..."

_Flashback_

_Sora, Donald and Goofy had left just ten minutes ago and Ash was bored out of his mind. He was laying on the ground, staring at the ceiling. Queen Minnie was standing next to him humming slightly._

_"They're taking a really long time." Ash complained. The Queen giggled at him._

_"You really must learn to be patient, Ash." she scolded him._

_"I'm sorry, I'm just not a very patient person." Ash apologized. "I'm all about action! I want something to happen!" As though on cue they felt a rumbling. Ash sprang up, looking around wildly. The Queen turned to him with an evil eye. _

_"You just had to say that, didn't you?" she demanded playfully._

_"I'm sorry." Ash rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. He became serious when a huge portal made of darkness appeared before them on the wall. "Wha?"_

_"Oh dear, what now?" Minnie asked. Ash blinked. He could sense something... pulling him towards it. It wasn't exactly evil... He nearly jumped when he felt something in his pocket vibrating. He reached into it and pulled out something he had nearly forgotten about. Aqua's good luck charm. He smiled at it before turning back to the portal._

_'_This is it..._' he thought. '_What Yen Sid was talking about._' He turned to the Queen. "Your Majesty!" he said. _

_"Ash?" she questioned._

_"I have to go, you wait here for Sora and the others." he said. Minnie's eyes widened._

_"You're going to go in -" she started but Ash had already jumped into the portal. "Ash no!" The portal then closed before her once again. "Ash... be careful."_

_End Flashback_

Ash opened his eyes. He was in some sort of wasteland. He stepped forward, only for a large gust to blow. Sand obscured his vision, though he could make out a figure appearing before him. The gust passed and he looked up. Before him kneeled a person, the person wore armor, very similar to his own. Only yellow and orange, and the horns on the helmet shot straight up, rather than curved backwards. Ash jumped as he heard a voice in his head.

_**Aqua... Ven... Keyblade... Who are you?**_ the voice asked. Ash stuttered. _**I can feel it - we have met before. But when... No... it isn't you... It isn't you that I have chosen. Why isn't it him? Xe...ha..nort... Is that you? Xeha...nort... XEHANORT! **_The voice screamed as the figure slowly stood. It pulled its weapon out of the sand. Ash's eyes widened upon seeing it. A Keyblade! The figure suddenly charged at him. Ash noticed that its movements seemed... mechanical. It slashed at him, which Ash dodged and flipped away. Ash summoned his Keyblades and charged at the figure. The two of them exchanged blow for blow.

'_Who is this?_' Ash thought. '_Wait, my lucky charm is reacting!_' Ash leapt back and pulled out the charm that Aqua gave him.

_**Wha... What is that?**_The voice asked as the figure halted. "You know what this is?" Ash asked. "It's a good luck charm that Aqua gave me."

_**Aqua... You are not Xehanort... Who are you?**__**You are... familiar... Are you...?**_The figure slowly reached behind it and pulled out a star-shaped pendant. Ash gasped. It was exactly like his and Aqua's! Aqua only made them for two other people. Ventus was comatose... then that means...

"Terra?" Ash asked hesitantly. "Are you Terra?"

_**Te...rra... Am I Terra? I do not know...**_

'_He is, I just know it!_' Ash thought to himself. He used his scan ability. The Lingering Sentiment. It was a sentiment? This thing is Terra's sentiment! Ash's eyes widened. "_So long as there is something left to restore..._" Yen Sid's words echoed in his head. This has to be what he meant!

_**Stranger... Who am I?**_

Ash nodded. "You are Terra... Best friend of Aqua and Ventus."

_**Aqua... Ven... Who are you?**_

"I am Ash." He had to think... '_What do I have to do?_' Ash thought. Wait a second! The Keyblade can unlock anything! Can it unlock hearts? Its worth a shot!

_**Ash... Aqua... Ven... **_"That's right, Terra!" Ash encouraged. "Focus on your friendship! Remember the good times you had with your friends." _**Aqua... Ven... Friendship... **_"Focus! Let them be your anchor!" _**I... remember...**_

"That's good!" Ash cheered. _**Ash... Aqua... Ven... my... friends...**_ He wasn't sure about he and Terra being friends, but whatever! Terra's good luck charm began glowing, as did Ash's. _'This is it!'_ Ash thought as he pointed Oathkeeper at the kneeling figure. A golden glow surrounded the Keyblade and it erupted into a beam, which pierced the figure's heart, or at least where it should be. The Keyblade began moving on its own, as the figure was lifted from the ground, its Keyblade staying stuck. Then the figure was engulfed in a bright light and was lowered to the ground. Ash opened his eyes once more and saw the figure laying on the ground. Ash hesitantly walked over, we was about to remove the helmet when another great gust blew. Ash closed his eyes to avoid getting sand in them. When he opened them again he saw another kneeling figure, this one black and white and extremely eerie. Ash stood quickly as the figure drew its weapon. Another Keyblade? Ash scanned it. Vanitas's Sentiment. Vanitas? Wasn't that Ventus' dark half?

Ash had no more time to ponder these things as Vanitas charged at him. Ash ran, trying to get it away from the unmoving body of what he hoped was Terra. Vanitas followed him, sending blasts of energy at him. Ash frantically avoided them and sent a Blizzard spell at him. It caught Vanitas in the leg and slowed him considerably. Ash lunged at him, but his strike was met with a blast of blue energy, sending Ash flying back. Ash was tired. He had already used a lot of energy trying to restore 'Terra'. He climbed back to his feet and blocked Vanitas's blow. Each strike that Ash blocked was draining his strength. Vanitas then unexpectedly rammed into him with his shoulder, sending Ash to the ground. He looked up to see Vanitas standing over him. Ash grit his teeth and Vanitas went for the kill. The blow never came. Vanitas had frozen mid attack. He suddenly disappeared in a shower of sparks. Ash looked through the sparks and gasped.

There stood a young man with dark brown hair that fell to his shoulders. He had blue eyes and tan skin. He had a black vest and samurai pants. He also wore yellow armor on his left shoulder. He held a large Keyblade in his hand. The man smiled down at him and extended a hand. "Nice to meet you, Ash." Ash took the hand and got to his feet.

"Nice to meet you too... Terra?" Ash asked. The man nodded.

"I want to thank you." Terra said quietly.

"It's no problem." Ash waved off his thanks. "It's what I was sent to do... and what Aqua asked me to do."

Terra looked grim. "Aqua... its because of me that's she's where she is..."

"She chose to save you."

"She wouldn't of had to save me if I had just been able to resist the temptation of darkness." Terra spat.

"You're right." Ash said. Terra looked at him. "But now you know better, right?" he asked smirking. Terra rolled his eyes. Ash turned serious again. "And now you're gonna help save her _and_ Ventus."

Terra looked towards the sky. "Aqua... Ven..." he whispered. "I swore to you that I would end this... and now I can..." he turned to Ash. "Alright, I'll go with you."

"So long as I don't see you sneaking around with any more badguys, got it?" Ash asked with false sternness. Terra chuckled. They felt comfortable with each other... even after only knowing each other for a few minutes. They felt as though they were already close friends. Perhaps the charms that Aqua made really did connect them all? They didn't have any time to think as they felt something tugging them away.

"What's going on?" Terra demanded. They both heard a familiar voice echo in their heads.

_"Well, running off on our own now are we, Ashton? And you found a friend!"_

The two blinked as their surroundings suddenly changed. They were standing in the Hall of the Cornerstone. "Ash!" three happy voices exclaimed at once. Ash suddenly found himself caught in a group hug.

"Haha. It's good to see you guys too." Ash chuckled. Donald crossed his arms.

"Where were you?" he demanded. He then noticed Terra standing there rather awkwardly. "And who is that?"

"Er well..." Ash began. He looked at Terra for help.

"The Keyblade Graveyard." Terra answered for him. Donald and Goofy gasped. Sora looked confused.

"Why were you there?" Goofy asked.

"What's the Keyblade Graveyard? Sora asked.

"Its the site where an ancient war was fought between the Keyblade Masters." Goofy explained.

"I was there because I had to rescue Terra." Ash said pointing at him.

"Terra?" Donald, Goofy, Minnie and Merlin repeated. Merlin took a good look at him and gasped.

"Terra, is that you? Why you haven't aged a day!" Merlin exclaimed. Terra rubbed the back of his head. "You must tell me, what cream do you use?" At this, everyone burst out laughing. Except Merlin, who was being perfectly serious. Ash introduced Terra to everyone. Queen Minnie remained silent.

"Oh yeah!" Sora exclaimed. "Yen Sid said that you were supposed to rescue three people! So Terra was one of them?" Ash nodded.

"The King did mention a Terra, along with Aqua and Ven. But that was a long time ago..." Minnie said.

"Your Majesty, do you know anything about my friends?" Terra asked her. She shook her head and he sighed. Ash suddenly remembered.

"Hey, what happened to the thorns and everything?" Ash asked.

"Oh, well, Merlin sent us back in time to stop Pete from stealing the Cornerstone of Light." Sora explained.

"Yeah, we had to carry that thing all the way up a big hill..." Donald muttered darkly while rubbing his lower back.

"I missed out on time travel?" Ash exclaimed. "Aw man..."

"So, Terra, I suppose you're coming with us?" Sora asked. Terra nodded. Sora looked like he was about to say something else when Donald cut him off.

"Daisy!" the duck cried happily. They all turned to see a female duck wearing a purple gown walking up to them. Donald ran up to her. "Daisy, I'm back!"

"Who?" Sora asked.

"Daisy is Donald's very special sweetheart." Goofy whispered to them.

Ash and Sora grinned. "Reeeally..." Sora said.

Donald was smiling happily but quacked in surprise when Daisy rounded on him. "Donald, you forgot about our date again!" she accused. "You'd better had a good excuse this time!"

Ash and Sora had to contain their laughter. "But Daisy... I..." Donald began to slowly back away from her.

"I know it's an important mission," she continued. "but you could at least check in every once in a while." Donald turned to his friends for help. Goofy chuckled at him. Sora and Ash started whistling. Terra just looked away smiling.

"Sora... Ash..." he pleaded. They continued whistling and grinned at each other. Donald glanced at the door and grinned evilly.

"Donald!" Merlin said sternly. Donald bowed.

Just be a minute..." he said as he dashed towards the door to the past. He fell onto his face as Daisy grabbed his ankles.

"Going somewhere?" she demanded.

"Of course not!" he cried as he ran away.

"Donald!" Daisy yelled and took off after him. Everyone laughed as Donald ran away from her screaming. Minnie glanced at the Conerstone and gasped.

"Oh!" she cried. "Look!" Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at the Cornerstone, which started glowing brightly. Sora and Ash's Keyblades appeared in their hands. They nodded and opened the gate.

Ash turned to the two ducks. "Daisy, I think we need Donald for just a little longer." he said.

"How _much_ longer?" she demanded fiercely. Ash backed away from her, frightened.

"Uh, well..." he stammered.

"I'll be back soon, Daisy!" Donald insisted. Daisy didn't look happy but nodded anway.

"Don't you worry, Queen Minnie." Goofy said. "We'll return."

"Please tell the King that we're still looking for him!" Sora requested. Minnie nodded.

"I will."

"See you soon!" Chip and Dale said together.

"Think wisely!" Merlin advised as he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Everyone waved as the Gummi Ship beamed them up.

*****Terra Joins the Party*****


	15. Captain, If You Please

**A/N: Okay, guys! Should I do Atlantica in pieces, or wait 'til later and do it all at once? Oh, by the way, here are the ages of the main characters seen or mentioned:**

**Ash/Xhäs: 16**

**Sora/Roxas: 15**

**Aqua: 16**

**Terra: 17**

**Donald and Goofy: Unknown (Does ANYONE know?)**

**Riku: 16**

**Ventus: 14**

**Kairi: 15**

**Am I forgetting anyone? Anyway, I know some of you are asking what will happen in Olympus, since Herc isn't depressed anymore. I'll tell you, it's more centered around someone else. I'm pretty sure you can guess who. The reason I'm updating so fast is to beat the release of BBS, so I have an excuse for being wrong on the story, and don't have to go back and fix it. I'm lazy like that.**

**Chapter 15 of Pokemon: Keyblade Masters**

**

* * *

**

"_This_ is how you get around?" Terra asked amazed.

"Yup!" Goofy nodded. "Welcome aboard the Gummi Ship!"

"Cool, huh? I reacted the same way." Ash grinned. Terra just nodded. Donald was piloting the ship while Sora enthusiastically retold their adventure in the Timeless River. "Ugh, I can't believe I missed all of that just to rescue this musclehead." Ash exclaimed. Terra rolled his eyes and looked out the window.

"What world is that?" Terra asked, pointing at what looked like a pirate ship.

"Port Royal..." Sora muttered. "Never been there before."

"Well, let's check it out then!" Ash exclaimed. Everyone nodded in agreement and Donald piloted the ship towards the new world.

* * *

The quintet disembarked and ended up at a rampart of some sort. Sora ran up to the ledge and looked down at the dark town before them, enveloped by the night. "Wow," was all Donald could say. The town below was far more dreary than the worlds they visited.

"Something's off..." Ash muttered. Sora nodded in agreement.

"This world's..." he started.

"Kinda different," Goofy finished for him. They heard people screaming and more commotion. They quickly ran to a ledge and looked down.

"Something's up." Sora muttered.

"Organization XIII?" Terra questioned. They had explained to him about the Organization on the way to Port Royal.

"Or the Heartless?" Donald asked.

"Only one way to find out!" Ash exclaimed as he took off downt he stairs. The others quickly followed.

* * *

A group of pirates are talking to a familiar fat cat. "Aztec treasure, eh?" Pete repeated. The pirate captain nodded.

"Aye, and thanks to the curse put on it..." the captain explained, "we are neither among the livin', nor the dead."

Pete gave the pirates a funny look. "Really? 'Cause you like regular pirates to me," Pete said.

The captain smirked and said, "Ah, but in the moonlight..." As if on cue, the cloud passing overhead ceased to cover the full moon above them. All of the pirates turned into skeletons.

"Whoa!" Pete exclaimed. "Now I get what you were sayin'..." he thought for a moment before continuing. "Well, if you see two doofuses and two brats holdin' Keyblades, steer clear." he advised. "They got a kinda magic that don't belong in this world, see? And _nobody_ knows what it'd do to ya. Specially when the moon's showing whatcha really are." Another cload passed by, blocking out the moonlight, and the pirates reverted to their human forms.

"A match for Barbossa, you say?" the captain queried. At this point the quintet ran into the harbor and spotted Pete.

"Hey!" Sora shouted as he, Ash, Donald and Goofy drew their weapons. Terra looked at them in confusion before following their example.

"See there?" Pete exclaimed. "I knew it!" he then caught sight of Terra. "What, you got a new brat with ya?" Pete's eyes widened in recognition. "You!" he shouted. Terra blinked before his eyes widened as well.

"What are you doing here?" Terra asked.

"You know him?" Ash asked incredulously. Terra nodded.

"He freaked out because he didn't win the Million Dream Award." he answered.

"What's that?" Sora inquired.

"Ice cream." Terra, Donald and Goofy answered at the same time. Sora and Ash fell over.

"That was some _good _ice cream though..." Terra said.

"You stole my reward!" Pete accused.

"It's just ice cream!" Terra said annoyed. "No matter how good it was..." he added quietly. Ash rolled his eyes.

"You got me sent to the Dark Realm!" Pete continued. "I gotta thank you for that, though! Else I wouldn't have met Maleficent!"

"Maleficent?" Terra questioned. Pete opened his mouth but was cut off.

"We'll explain later!" Sora said. Pete glared and turned back to the pirates, who were looking annoyed.

"Those are the punks I was tellin' ya about!" Pete explained.

"Who're you calling punks?" Sora demanded. "It's Sora, Donald, Goofy, Ash and Terra to you! And don't you forget it!"

"That we won't." the pirate, Barbossa replied. "And we'll engrave it on your tombstone, to be sure."

"Whoa!" Pete said surprised. "I like your style."

The pirate turned to his comrades. "Men - half of you stay here and indulge these cullies." he commanded. "The rest, bring me that medallion!"

"Aye!" the answered and did as they were told. They split up and a few of the pirates faced them.

"Aw, we only get to stomp on a fwe of you?" Sora asked in fake disappointment. Barbossa smirked.

The pirates charged at them and Sora charged back. He sliced through one of them.

To everyone's surprise, the pirate sliced in half _reattached _himself! Goofy bashed one pirate to the side, making a sickening crack. The gang flinched at that. The pirate stumbled back, put his hands on his head and put it back in place.

"No way!" Ash gasped.

"We can't beat them like this." Terra growled. One of the pirates smirked.

"Aye, whaddya expect?" he taunted.

Just then, the cloud covering the moon passed on, and the full moon shone down on them. The quintet gasped at what they saw. The pirates turned undead again. "You best be sayin' your prayers!" One of them grumbled.

Pete noticed the change. "Hey, watch out!" He shouted to them, "They can see ya! Stay away from their magic!"

The other pirate looked confused, as much as a skeleton can show confusion. "What for?" He asked, clearly not remembering what Pete had told them.

Pete groaned. "Weren't ya listenin' to me before?" He asked.

Sora smirked. "Hey Pete, thanks for the tip!" He shouted, and used Thunder on one of them, sending him to kingdom come. The others followed his lead and casted various spells at the pirates, destroying them.

Pete growled, seeing that he had no allies around. "This ain't over!" he growled before running off to the docks. Everyone relaxed.

"If Pete's here, that must mean we have work to do." Sora sighed.

"Yup." Goofy agreed. "And that pirate captain looked pretty mean, too."

"Hate to see him turn into a Heartless." Ash remarked. Sora nodded in agreement. "Did anyone catch his name?" They shook their heads. Suddenly Sora brightened.

"Hey!" he exclaimed. "Maybe we can take a pirate ship out for a spin!"

"Do you even know how to sail one?" Terra asked. Sora rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I thought not."

"Heheheh," Sora laughed nervously. "Weren't those guys headed into town?" he asked changing the subject.

"Something about a medallion." Ash nodded. "We better see what they're up to." And with that they made their way into town.

* * *

"Where are you taking me?" a blonde woman demanded, as a pirate hauled her off. "Let me go!"

A man spotted the pirate carrying the woman away. "Elizabeth!" The man shouted, and tried to chase the pirate until a bunch of Shadows surrounded him. "What are they?" He asked in shook.

"It's the Heartless!" Donald's voice shouted. "Watch out!"

"We'll deal with them!" Sora assured as they stood before him. "Go take cover!" The man nodded and ran out of the fray. There were only Shadows and a few Soldiers, so it didn't last long. The Heartless were defeated easily. Ash noticed that Terra fought with brute strength. His attacks being slow, but powerful. While Ash himself prefered speed, and Sora was more well-balanced.

"Well done!" the man from earlier exclaimed upon leaving his hiding spot. "My own fencing skills are not to be ashamed of, but I've never faced foes such as that before." he explained.

Sora grinned and placed his hands behind his head. Ash noticed a look of nostalgia pass over Terra's face. "You really think we're that good?" Sora asked.

"Did you find your friend?" Goofy inquired.

"I was too late..." he muttered. "But I must rescue her!" he then looked at them pleadingly. "Will you help me?"

"Of course!" Sora agreed without consulting them. Terra rolled his eyes but didn't disagree. "I'm Sora! And this is Donald, Goofy, Ash and Terra!"

The man nodded. "And I'm William Turner, but call me Will."

"Okay, Will." Sora agreed. "Let's got!"

"Right, we've got to get to the docks!" he urged.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Ash asked. "Let's go." And they did.

* * *

They ran to the edge of the dock, and they watched the pirate ship sail away. Will sighed. "We're too late!" he exclaimed. "Those pirates kidnapped Miss Swann and took her to their ship. Now they've set sail and I'll never be able to find her!"

"Then she's long gone." a voice called out from the ship next to them. They turned to the voice and saw a man standing on the board that goes to the ship. "The Black Pearl is nigh uncatchable. Best find yourself another girl, mate." Then he jumped onto the deck. The six of them walked toward the plank connecting the ship to the dock.

"You..." Will muttered. "What are you doing aboard the Interceptor? She's off limits to civilians."

"Ah, fortunate that I'm going to commandeer her, then." the man replied in a lazy drawl. "She'll make a fine pirate ship."

Sora became excited upon hearing that. "A pirate?" he exclaimed.

"_Captain _Jack Sparrow, if you please," the pirate corrected.

'_Another pirate, huh?_' Ash thought to himself.

"Take me with you." Will demanded. "Help me hunt down the Black Pearl and rescue Miss Swann. I got you out of that jail cell, Sparrow. Do this and you're debt is repaid."

"You'll have to win the fair lady's heart alone, mate. I see no profit in it for me," Jack replied.

"C'mon, Captain!" Sora begged.

"Are you sure you can sail her?" Will asked. "All on your own?"

Jack opened his mouth to reply, only to shut it again, realizing that he was right. "You've a point there." he admitted.

Will nodded and walked the plank over to the Interceptor. "Thanks, Sparrow."

"_Captain_ Sparrow." Jack corrected. He turned to find Sora in his face.

"I'm Sora, that's Donald, Goofy, Terra and Ash." he said. Terra groaned.

"Sure, give the pirate our names..." he muttered. Ash shook his head.

"I'm Will Turner." Will said.

"That would be short for William, I imagine." Jack asked. "No doubt named for your father, eh?"

"Yes," Will said quietly. Jack nodded.

"Well then, Mr. Turner," he said. "You get us ready to make way. I've some effects to liberate."

"Aye-aye!" Will said. "But hurry!"

Jack waved away his worry. "Naturally."

The five of them walked down the plank back onto the dock. "Sora..." Donald muttered.

"I don't trust him." Ash stated.

"Why?" Sora asked. Terra rolled his eyes.

"He's a _pirate_, Sora," the oldest of the group said.

"A criminal." Ash finished.

"Oh, c'mon, guys." Sora said. "He doesn't seem that bad."

"You thinkin' of being a pirate or something?" Ash asked.

"Of course not!" Sora chuckled. Donald stopped and look at him skeptically. Sora walked up to Jack, who leaned down.

"What do you make of this Will?" he asked. Sora shrugged.

"I don't know." he replied. "We just met him."

Jack looked up at the ship. "Hmm... I think my luck's about to change." Ash and Terra's eyes narrowed. They glanced at each other. Neither of them trusted the pirate. Ash had encountered pirates before. It hadn't been an enjoyable experience. They looked to see Sora walking off with Jack. They sighed and followed him.

* * *

They had set sail not an hour ago. Ash was bored and he could tell Terra was as well. Sora was bouncing around excitedly. Donald was just sitting on a couple of boxes. Goofy was playing look-out. Jack was at the wheel, steering the ship and staring at a compass. "Why are you so fixated on that compass?" he asked. Jack glanced at him.

"It'll be she that leads us to the Isla de Muerta, where Barbossa's headed. Savvy?"

"How do you know?" Sora asked.

"Ah, lad." Jack sighed. "He and I once had our eyes on a treasure - the Aztec Gold. 'Twas hidden on the Isla de Muerta, but he turned traitor and stole my ship."

"So he's after the treasure then?" Will guessed. Jack turned to him.

"Treasure's already his." he said simply. "So's the curse upon it. I've no desire for such treacherous spoils. But I will have back what's mine - the Black Pearl." With that he turned back to the compass and everyone went back to what they were doing before their little conversation.

* * *

Sora and Terra lowered the plank onto the shore of the Isla de Muerta. They walked onto the said shore and stood in a circle. "So, what do we do?" Ash queried, looking around a bit.

"Mr. Turner and I will go and save Miss Swann," Jack replied.

"Hey, what about us?" Sora demanded.

"Why, you're to guard the ship of course!" he said. "It's a task given to only the bravest pirates." Terra rolled his eyes and mouthed, 'Whatever' and walked back to the ship.

"Alright..." Sora sighed and followed him.

"Don't come crying back to us..." Ash muttered and followed them.

"Guard her well!" Jack called to them. He only recieved five grunts in response. He turned to Will. "Shall we?" And with that, they ran off.

A few minutes passed and Sora finally said, "I think he was just trying to fast talk us..."

Everyone looked at him deadpan. "And you fell for it." Sora sighed, his cheeks going red.

"What's keeping those two?" he wondered out loud.

"They sure are taking their time." Ash agreed.

"If Pete's hanging around, there must be Heartless here, too." Sora reasoned. "And Jack and Will aren't used to fighting Heartless... Let's go see!" He raced down the plank, Donald and Goofy at his heels. Terra slowly picked himself up.

"Just when I was getting comfortable." he joked. Ash smirked and the two of them chased after their companions. When the quintet were about to enter the cave itself, Will and Elizabeth ran out. "Quick, they're after us!" Will exclaimed.

The five looked behind the two adults and saw the pirates charging at them. "Uh oh." Ash muttered as everyone drew their weapons.

"We'll hold them off!" Sora said. "Give us a sign when the ship's ready to sail!"

"Right!" Will agreed. "We'll light the signal fire!" Then he and Elizabeth ran off. The five of them met the pirates, using magic to hold them off. A minute later Sora looked back to see a trail of smoke coming from the Interceptor.

"The signal!" Sora shouted and the five ran back towards the ship. They got back on the ship and Sora noticed something wrong. "Where's Jack?" He demanded.

"Well…" Will began, going into a flashback.

_-Flashback!-_

_Jack and Will went up to the adjacent section of the cave, where they hid, and a narrow hole are there. They looked out and Will gasped as the undead pirates, who were cheering, are in a semi circle in front of the stone chest. And Barbossa and Elizabeth Swann were standing on the rock where the cursed gold was placed._

_Barbossa began to speak, "Every last piece that went astray we have returned, save for this!" He held up the gold medallion, which was held by a small gold chain, probably used as a necklace. Barbossa turned to Elizabeth. "And now, the blood will be repaid to free us from this curse forever!"_

_Will started to make his way down to the pirates. Jack whispered quickly, "No! Not yet. Wait for the opportune moment."_

_Will turned back to the captain. "When it's of greatest profit to you?" He demanded._

_Jack sighed and said, "May I ask you something?" He approached Will, nearly getting in his face. "Have I ever given you reason not to trust me? Stay here… and try not to do anything stupid." Jack began to walk away._

_Will picked up a wooden paddle and whacked Jack on the head, making the pirate fall down unconscious. Will threw the paddle down and walked away._

_Barbossa took a knife and put a deep cut in Elizabeth's hand. He held her hand, which was clutching the medallion, out over the stone chest. "Begun by blood… by blood undone." After a moment, they both let go, and the blood-stained medallion dropped into the chest._

_Barbossa stood still, waiting for the feeling to return to his body. But nothing happened. The pirates were still undead. Barbossa quickly grabbed Elizabeth's hand and shouted, "You! Maid! Your father. Was your father William Turner?"_

_Elizabeth shook her head. "No," she muttered, as she's now fully aware that she had tricked the pirates. Angry, Barbossa threw her down, and she landed behind the stone they had been standing on._

_"I don't understand!" One of the pirates yelled._

_"What's going on?" Another cried out._

_"Who brought this wench to us?" Barbossa demanded, looking among his men._

_"She said her name was Turner!" The pirate that carried Elizabeth away explained nervously with a sweat-drop._

_By some miracle, the medallion dropped down next to Elizabeth. She reached out to grab it, and her hand met Will's. "Hurry," Will whispered then they began to run._

_Barbossa saw them. "You there!" He shouted to the two. Then he went bug-eye when he saw the medallion dangling from Will's hand. "The medallion! After them you ingrates!" The pirates took off after Will and Elizabeth._

_-End flashback!-_

"I had to." Will defended himself. Donald was tapping his foot while he and the others were staring at Will. "Jack's no fairytale pirate. The real ones aren't to be trusted."

"Whatever." Terra said as he went down towards the deck.

"Let's just get back to Port Royal." Ash said. Will nodded and took the wheel.

* * *

Ash was walking around the deck, not really doing anything, when he spotted Terra standing by the door of the hold. He walked over and was about to ask what he was doing when he shushed him. Ash blinked and heard Will's voice.

"Is it true?" Will asked. "You gave Barbossa my name instead of yours? Why choose my name?"

Ash turned to Terra who was straining his ears. "You're one nosey person, Terra."

"Hey, what's going on?" Sora asked. They both shushed him. He blinked and listened in.

"I don't know," Elizabeth replied. Sora's eyes widened. He glared at them.

"Eavesdropping?" he hissed.

"Shush!" Terra hissed back.

"Elizabeth…" Will began, "where did you get that?"

"It's yours," she replied, "From the day we found you- drifting at sea."

"After all this time… I thought I'd lost it," he said, "It was a gift from my father… he sent it to me."

"I'm sorry," she apologized as Will took the trinket.

"But why did you take it?" He demanded.

"Because I was afraid that you were a pirate," she replied. "That would have been awful."

"Of course…" He muttered, loud enough for Elizabeth (and the eavesdroppers) to hear. "Don't you see?" He walked over to the other side of the hold, apparently in deep thought. "It wasn't your blood they needed… it was my father's blood- my blood. The blood…" He sighed and turned back to her, "of a pirate."

Sora, Ash and Terra gasped. "What was that?" Elizabeth asked.

Ash covered Sora's mouth. Sora covered Terra's mouth. Terra covered both their mouths. "What?" Will asked.

"Nothing, I just thought I heard something..." she muttered. The three eavesdroppers sighed in relief and walked away.

'_That was interesting._' Ash thought.

* * *

"How the blazes did you get off that island, Jack?" Barbossa wondered, slowly walking around Captain Sparrow, who was bound to the mast by ropes.

Jack replied, "When you sailed away in my ship and marooned me on that godforsaken spit of land, with naught but a pistol and a single shot, you've forgotten one very important thing mate." He paused for emphasis, then quickly said, "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow."

Barbossa turned to Jack and remarked with a smirk, "I won't be makin' that mistake again."

"Then what say you to puttin' the past behind us, untying these ropes, and letting me negotiate the return of your medallion, eh?" Jack proposed. "What say you to that?"

"Seein' as how the Black Pearl's mine now, Jack," Barbossa countered, "lettin' you go doesn't seem to fall within my interest."

Captain Jack Sparrow was angry now, given up the calm act he was using. "Odd, I'm not actually concerned with _your _interest. Give me back the Pearl!"

The undead pirate captain chuckled. "Alright! Lock him in the brig!" He commanded then he started walking back to the Black Pearl's helm.

A random pirate called out, "We're comin' up on the Interceptor. What do we do, Captain?"

Barbossa was quite annoyed. "Whaddya think, you idiot?"

* * *

Elizabeth was looking out at the sea, admiring the sea and thinking, when Elizabeth spotted something. "Will, look!" She shouted to him, pointing out at the distance.

Will, Sora, Donald, Goofy, Ash and Terra ran to them and looked where Elizabeth was pointing. Ash's eyes widened. "It's the Black Pearl!" he exclaimed.

"What now?" Donald asked.

"I wonder what Jack would do..." Sora muttered.

"I'm not sure..." Will replied. "I suppose... he'd run for it."

"Sounds good to me!" Ash exclaimed as the ship shook violently. Everyone was thrown off their feet. Will tumbled over the edge and into the water.

"Will!" Elizabeth cried.

"Everyone hit the deck!" Goofy cried. There was another shake as a cannonball hit them. Ash saw the medallion laying before him and grabbed it, stuffing it into one of the many pockets of his clothing.

"We're gonna have to fight!" Terra shouted. Everyone nodded and Elizabeth ran to the hold to hide. Ash steered the ship to the Black Pearl and got the Interceptor and the Black Pearl side by side. The pirates had boarded on the ship.

A cannon shot from the Pearl and exploded on the deck. Sora, being ticked off by the cannons, went to the Interceptor's cannons and made it fire at the Pearl, making it tilt and stopped it from firing. Then went back to fending off the pirates with Ash, Donald, Goofy, and Terra. They got used to fighting them now, so they were defeated easily despite their numbers.

"Ugh..." Ash muttered as he ripped off a hand that was clutching his ankle and threw it overboard. The pirates were nowhere in sight, and the Pearl was starting to smoke from the cannon blasts.

"Hooray!" Donald cheered.

"We beat the pirates!" Sora added.

"Well, did you now, laddies?" Barbossa's voice came from behind them. They turned and spotted him, his crew of pirates, Elizabeth and Jack, though the last two were tied up.

"Jack!" Sora shouted. Jack made a forced laugh. The quintet looked around and saw that they were surrounded by undead pirates. There was no way out.

"Oy…" Ash muttered at the numbers around them then glared at Barbossa, who stared back.

"Now then," the undead captain stated, "I'll be having that medallion." Ash hardened his glare. Barbossa stepped forward, and the quintet got into a fighting stance. "Unless it's more important than their lives?" Barbossa added, indicating Jack and Elizabeth and for emphasize, two undead pirates pointed pistols at their heads.

Ash ceased his glaring and sighed.

"Barbossa!" they turned to the side of the ship and saw Will pointing a pistol at Barbossa. "She goes free!"

"Go ahead boy - shoot! We can't die!" he said with a laugh.

"You can't..." Will agreed before pointing the gun at himself. "But I can. My name is Will Turner, my father was Bootstrap Bill Turner! His blood runs in my veins!"

"Aye?" Barbossa blurted out in surprise.

"On my word, do as I say," Will continued. "or I'll pull this trigger and be lost to Davy Jones' Locker."

"Name your terms... Mr. Turner." Barbossa said.

"Release Elizabeth… and Sora, Donald, Goofy, Ash, and Terra!" Will stated.

"Anything else?" Barbossa asked. Jack squirmed a bit, trying to point himself out.

"Leave-now!" Will shouted. Jack face faulted at that.

Barbossa bowed and said, "Agreed. Leave we shall…" He rose with an evil grin. "…but the Heartless stay!"

The quintet heard Pete's cackle and turned to see the fat antagonist knocking Will out. A bunch of Air Pirate Heartless appeared around them. "Hey no fair!" Sora shouted. Ash grit his teeth. This certainly wasn't good.

* * *

The next thing they knew, they were tied together by ropes in the Interceptor's hold. "Good work, Barbossa!" Pete praised. "Who knew it'd be this easy?"

"Barbossa you coward!" Elizabeth shouted. Ash winced. She had shouted right into his ear.

"That's the last time I trust a pirate!" Sora shouted. They then heard a random pirate shout:

"The powder kegs are ready, Captain!"

Barbossa grinned. "Then I bid ye farewell!"

The pirates nodded then they took off.

After a few moments Donald demanded worriedly, "What do we do now?"

"We'll be blown to smithereens!" Goofy pointed out.

"Why struggle, mate?" Jack sighed. "A pirate knows when to surrender," he said.

"Are you serious, Jack?" Sora asked incredulously.

"Your average pirate, anyway," Jack added, then he stood up after finally cutting his bonds off. "First we gotta see to the gun powder. I'm not about to lose this ship!"

"I still don't plan to trust pirates again." Sora told him.

"Wise policy, lad." Jack replied as he cut their bonds. They nodded and the sextet went to out to the Interceptor's deck. They spotted the Air Pirates, who were getting ready to light the powder kegs to blow up the ship.

"Oh no you don't!" Ash shouted as he casted Thunder on it, while Sora sent the keg overboard.

"One down, five to go!" Sora shouted, then he and Ash proceeded to do the same thing to the other kegs while Goofy, Donald, Jack and Terra took care of the Heartless.

"All clear..." Ash sighed in relief. Jack ran to the wheel and glared into the horizon.

"That's the second time I've had to watch that man sail away with my ship." he muttered darkly. "But I'll be havin' her back soon enough." With that said, they set sail towards the Isla de Muerta.

* * *

"Now, let's be tryin' this again!" Barbossa shouted. They were in the treasure room again, reading their little ritual. "The last of the Aztec treasure has been returned." He pointed his knife at 'William Turner's' throat, and made a slicing motion across his own. 'Will' didn't move. "And now, the blood will be repaid to free us from this curse forever! This time for sure!" The pirates cheered.

"Ahoy! Treasure, mateys!" Sora shouted as they ran into the cave.

"Not possible!" Barbossa gasped.

"Not probable!" Donald corrected. "We're alive and we're pirates!"

Jack stepped forward. "Captain Jack Sparrow!"

"Sora!"

"Terra!"

"Ash!

"Donald Duck!"

"Goofy, too!"

"So you wanna play pirate?" Barbossa asked. "Best save the playactin' for the nursery! After them!" They met their attack head on, destroying them easily.

"No more playacting now!" Sora taunted. Will ran up to them.

"Thank you, Sora." he said.

"Uh, where's Jack?" Goofy asked. They heard swords clashing at the back of the cave, and, sure enough, there was Jack and Barbossa going at it.

"Jack! Get him!" Sora cheered.

Jack fended Barbossa off for a moment. "Huh?" He replied in a daze. Then he grunted as Barbossa stabbed him quickly while his guard was down.

Everyone gasped in worry. "Jack!" Sora shouted.

Barbossa looked proud. "You're a fool, Jack Sparrow," he said.

Jack stumbled into the moonlight behind him, where he instantly turned into a skeletal pirate. Jack looked at his hands, and shuffled a medallion between his bony fingers.

"Jack..." Will gasped, impressed with the pirate's cunning.

Barbossa turned from his enemy and shouted, "Show yourself, Pete! The tide has changed!" They all turned around behind them.

Pete put his fists on his hips and said, "See? I told ya you'd be needin' ol' Pete!" He then whistled.

A chameleon-type creature with glowing eyes and a lamp for a tail jumped around and inched its way down the walls until it hung next to Barbossa. "What's that?" Ash wondered, at the sight of the creature. The creature immediately stuck up its tail. All the light seemed to vanish and be absorbed by the lamp.

"That creature's sucking up all the light!" Terra shouted, "We gotta find it, or we'll never beat Barbossa!"

Everyone nodded and looked around. Ash spotted glowing eyes on the wall. "There!" he shouted. Sora nodded and charged at it, entering Valor Form. He quickly defeated the Heartless, releasing the light that it had stolen and Barbossa was revealed as a skeleton.

"Let's go!" Terra shouted as he and the others brandished their weapons. Terra, Sora, Jack, and Ash slashed at him, while Goofy bashed him and Donald using magic on him. It wasn't long until Barbossa was weakened.

They all turned to Pete who back away from them. "This ain't over!" he promised as he ran away.

They all turned their attention to Jack and Barbossa while Will went to where the cursed gold is. "Right! Care to surrender, Barbossa?" Jack asked. The undead pirate got back to his feet and brandished his cutlass. Jack sighed. "Well, enough of this, then…" He threw his cutlass to the ground and brought out his pistol. "What say you we call it… a draw?"

Barbossa pointed his sword at Jack once more. "Jack, how many times do I have to tell ya-"

Jack quickly threw his medallion away and fired at Barbossa's chest. Barbossa began to laugh…

"Laugh while you can, Barbossa!" Will shouted. Everyone looked at where Will is. He held a knife in one hand, and both medallions in the other. He dropped the medallions into the stone chest. The curse had been undone; the blood had been repaid, and the medallions had been restored.

Barbossa flinched as he felt the pain in his chest. He realized that he was finally alive… but was about to die. "I feel… cold," he mumbled as his face went white. Then he fell to the ground, dead.

* * *

They all walked out of the cave, now that the work was done. Will stopped. "What now, Jack?" He asked.

"Whatever I want, now that the Pearl is mine again," Jack replied, looking at the Black Pearl as if no other treasure in that island could ever come close.

"That she is," Will said with a chuckle. "Thank you, Jack." He held out his hand.

Jack flinched wildly. "I didn't want ye hittin' me again, mate," he explained hastily.

"Hey Jack," Sora remarked, "good luck."

"And remember to be good!" Donald added.

"I'm off," Jack announced. Turning to the ships, he saw Elizabeth rushing toward them. "Will!" She cried out. Jack opened up his arms to receive an embrace, but Elizabeth passed him up and hugged Will again. Jack hung his head, then, gathering the remainder of his dignity, he walked off.

Sora put his hands on the back of his head. "Good for them," he said.

"Aye." Terra said. Everyone stared at him. His eyes widened. "Ugh, I gotta get outta here..."

Goofy turned to Sora. "Hey Sora- how come your face is all red?" He asked in a teasing tone.

Sora looked flustered. "What? It is not red!" He quickly denied.

Donald put his hands on his hips. "Aw, I know who you're thinking about," he teased. They all began to laugh while Sora tried to cover his face.

Suddenly, Jack's compass flashed with a familiar light. It began to float up into the air as a halo of light surrounded it. Jack was really surprised by this, when he got out of his depressed state. Sora and Ash pulled out their Keyblades, and a bright flash occurred around them as he opened the gate to the next world.

Sora looked over to Donald. "You know… for a minute there… I was afraid that we were going to lose Donald to the curse of the treasure!" He remarked. It was Donald's turn to look surprised.

Goofy raised his hand. "Yup. Me too!"

"Me three!" Ash laughed.

Terra grinned. "That makes four of us," he said.

Donald was outraged. "What?" He screamed, startling all of his comrades. They all laughed at him as the Gummi Ship beamed them up.

* * *

**A/N: I'm leaning more towards doing Atlantica all at once, what do you guys think? My spell check STILL isn't working! AUGH!**


	16. Arabian Knights

**A/N: I hate Halloween Town, so I'm doing it last. This story is all KH2 gameplay. No Command Styles. (Mainly cause I have no idea what that is. Can someone explain it to me?) The last chapter was mainly to intergrate Terra into the story.**

**Chapter 16 of Pokemon: Keyblade Masters**

**

* * *

**

"Being a pirate was more fun than I thought it would be." Ash admitted as they flew on to the next world.

"It wasn't all bad." Terra agreed. Sora grinned.

"You bet!" he said. Ash looked out the window to see a new world coming up.

"What's that world?" he asked. Sora and Terra followed his gaze.

"Hey, it's Agrabah!" Sora exclaimed.

"Aladdin, right?" Sora nodded. They spent the rest of their time filling Terra in on the Heartless before landing in Agrabah.

* * *

"Agrabah!" Donald exclaimed happily. "We made it!" The quintet walked through the streets of an Arabian-like town.

"Gawrsh, I wonder how Aladdin and Jasmine are doin'?" Goofy asked.

"Hey maybe Riku's with them!" Sora said hopefully.

"Yeah, and the King!" Goofy agreed.

"Who knows, maybe they are." Ash said optimistically. Terra shook his head and followed them.

"Keep dreaming, you three." Donald scolded.

Sora laughed. "Come on, Donald." he grinned. "You were thinking the same thing!"

"No, I wasn't!" he denied.

"You so were!" Ash accused. As the other four kept walking, Goofy heard flapping noises behind them. He turned and saw a familiar red parrot.

"Huh?" Goofy asked as the parrot flew around him. "Uh oh, it's uh... uh..." he mumbled, trying to remember the parrot's name. "It's Iago!" he shouted, slamming his fist into an open palm.

Hearing this, Sora and Donald immediately turned around with their weapons. "Who?" Ash and Terra asked.

The parrot squawked in surprise before panicking. "Wait!" he shouted. "You got it all wrong!"

"You're Iago, alright." Donald growled. Ash blinked.

"Oh! The evil parrot, that's right!" he exclaimed.

"Evil parrot?" Terra repeated incredulously.

"I'm not evil!" the parrot denied. "I've changed! I've turned over a new feather! I'm legit, no scams, I swear!"

"I bet _that's_ your new scam." Sora accused folding his arms.

"Ya gotta believe me!" Iago begged.

"Sora, let's go." Donald said.

"I was stuck inside that lamp with Jafar. Remember?" the parrot asked. "Well... I finally escaped, but then some things happened and..."

"So..." Sora said. "Free as a bird, huh?"

"Lame pun, totally intended." Ash said.

"Have fun!" Donald shouted. Goofy walked over to the parrot, feeling sorry for him.

"Gawrsh fellas," he said. "He looks pretty sad."

Iago brightened up at this. "I wanna apologize to Aladdin and Jasmine," he said as he flew up and landed in Goofy's outstretched hands. "Can ya guys maybe put in a good word for me?"

Goofy nodded. "Sure, we can do that," he replied and as he said the next two words he glanced at the others, "can't we?"

"I dunno..." Sora said skeptically.

Ash heard a slight hissing noise. Like two blades sliding against each other. Ash whipped around and saw several Luna Bandit Heartless. Iago, who also spotted them, shot up into the air. "Watch out!" He shouted as he flew away from the impending battle. Ash, Terra and Sora summoned their Keyblades, Donald brought out his staff and Goofy his shield. They found themselves surrounded by Heartless.

They fought new types of Heartless, along with some common ones like Shadows and Soldiers. But it looked like the reinforcements had no end. After a few minutes, they were surrounded by more Luna Bandits. Sora grunted. "Where are they all coming from?"

A couple of them saw Iago and ran toward him. With a shriek, Iago flew up and out of the way. The Heartless bumped into each other. Iago fluttered backward and knocked down an urn, and flew behind some crates. They, by some weird coincidence, landed on top of some of the Luna Bandits. Behind the stunned Heartless, there was a path to a shop.

"This way!" Sora yelled as he spotted it. They quickly obliged and ran in with Iago screaming like mad. The Heartless didn't bother to chase.

They stopped and caught their breath in the ragged building. Iago rested on a stack of boxes. Goofy pointed out, "Aw, we'd've been goners if Iago hadn't helped us." he said. "Ain't that right, fellas?"

Ash scoffed. Terra raised an eyebrow. Sora sighed. "I guess we owe you one." he admitted.

Iago lookedd elated. "Perfect!" he shouted.

"But you'll have to win over Aladdin and Jasmine on your own." Sora warned. "Be on your best behavior, got it?" Iago nodded.

"Yeah, I got it."

"Good." Ash said. "Now where _is_ Aladdin?"

"I betcha he's at the palace!" Iago suggested. Sora turned to them.

"Then let's go!" he said. They all nodded and followed him out.

* * *

The six of them walked up to the palace gates they saw a young woman with black hair in turquoise Arabian princess clothes, stood.

"Jasmine!" Sora called to her. The princess turned around, saw them with her brown eyes, and smiled. Terra whisted quietly and nudged Ash.

"She's hot." he whispered.

"You better behave." Ash warned with smirked. "Remember, she's the princess. She could have you hanged or something." Terra flinched and subtly back away from her.

"Sora, Donald, Goofy!" she exclaimed happily.

Donald stepped forward and bowed. "Your Majesty," he said. Sora and Goofy followed suit.

Ash just waved. "Nice to meet you, I'm Ash." he introduced. "And this guy's Terra."

"It's nice to meet you." Jasmine chuckled. "I never had the chance to thank you for before," she said to the trio, "You helped Aladdin defeat that awful Jafar and saved Agrabah."

Sora put his hands behind his head. "All in a day's work," he added. Ash noticed Iago hiding behind Goofy's back. Sora's expression changed to a worried one. "But, uh… it looks like the Heartless are up to no good again. Is there anyway we can help you out?"

"I think we're alright for now." Jasmine said.

"And ya always got Aladdin!" Goofy added. Jasmine looked away.

"He... hasn't been himself lately..." she muttered.

"Huh?" Donald mumbled, and brought out his staff. "Is it because of the Heartless?" He asked as he got into a fighting stance and looked around for danger.

Jasmine shook her head. "I'm not sure," she replied and began to pace. "Usually, he's the same cheerful Aladdin. But sometimes… he just seems sad."

"He leaves the palace and goes off by himself all the time," Jasmine continued as she stopped pacing. "I've asked him about it, but he says nothing's wrong. He's gone again today. What if he doesn't come back this time?" she asked in a panicked tone.

"Hey! Maybe he's got a secret girlfriend!" Iago shouted, as he flew up from behind Goofy, startling all of them. Before anyone could comment, he said, "I know! I'll go find out who she is!"

Jasmine gasped at the sight of the bird. "Iago!" She shouted. "Quick, catch him! I'll warn the guards and everyone in the palace!"

"Wait, Iago's not...!" Sora started to say, but Jasmine had already run off. Everyone sighed and glared at the bird.

"You blew it." Ash sighed.

"Nice move." Sora said sarcastically. Iago sighed and suddenly found something on the ground to be quite interesting. Goofy turned to the others.

"Maybe we should go find Aladdin." he suggested. "He's gotta be somewhere in town, right?"

"Good idea." Sora smiled. "I wonder what he's been doing."

Upon entering the streets again they immediately heard someone shouting. "Stop, thief!"

They turned to see a brown furred monkey with a little purple vest and a small purple hat running by, holding a black lamp. They all stared after it when a young man with black hair, brown eyes, a purple vest and white pants ran by them. "Hi, Sora!" he called as he passed.

"Come back here!" A short man with a black beard, a white turban on his head, and a blue robe; yelled as he ran after the two.

They glanced at each other again then took off after the guy. The chase ended at a dead end, to no one's great surprise._ 'I wonder what this is about?' _Ash thought to himself.

"If you can't control that fur ball…" The guy muttered, gasping for breath, "put a leash on him!"

The man sighed. "Look, I'm sorry…" he said, then turned to the monkey. "You should be ashamed of yourself, Abu," he scolded him. Abu placed the lamp in the man's hand hesitantly. He held out the lamp to the guy. "…No hard feelings?" The guy snatched it, grunted, and walked away. The man turned to Abu. "Abu!" He said menacingly, making the monkey flinch.

The man and Abu walked over to them. "Sorry about that you guys," he apologized, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, "I was kinda in a hurry."

"We could tell," Ash remarked.

"So, what happened Aladdin?" Sora asked, changing the subject.

"You know Abu," Aladdin explained, shaking his head, "He couldn't keep his paws off that lamp." Abu started making a series of noises and hand gestures, as if he was trying to explain himself. Aladdin shook a finger at him. "No talking your way out of this one!" Everyone laughed.

"I guess you can't be _that _down in the dumps." Sora commented. Aladdin looked confused.

"Who said I was?" he asked.

"Princess Jasmine." Terra answered.

"She's pretty worried about you." Ash continued. "Sorry, we haven't been introduced. I'm Ash and this is Terra." Aladdin nodded in acknowledgement.

"She's worried because you're always off on your own." Goofy said.

"Got a new girlfriend?" Terra asked somewhat hopefully. Aladdin looked at him confused.

"No way!" he said. Terra sighed as a dark cloud rained on him. Everyone sweat dropped. "I guess there's no fooling Jasmine, huh?" Aladdin closed his eyes. "See, Genie and Carpet took off to see the world. It's what Genie wanted, so I wished him the best and all, but..."

"You miss him." Ash guessed.

"Man," Sora said putting his hands behind his head. "Things must be _really_ boring with Genie gone."

"Yeah..." Aladdin said quietly. "That's why I come here, the action - the people. There's always something going on. I mean, come on! I met you guys here, right? This place is full of surprises."

Goofy's attention was drawn to something else. "Uh, Sora?" Everyone followed his gaze to see Iago on the ground trembling.

"Iago?" Aladdin exclaimed in surprise.

"Oh yeah!" Sora remembered. "He wanted to apoligize for all the trouble he caused!"

"He does?" Aladdin asked surprised. Goofy chuckled.

"Gawrsh, he's so sorry, he's shakin'!"

"Th-That lamp!" Iago blurted out.

"What about it?" Aladdin asked.

Iago made an irritated face and flew into Aladdin's face. "That was Jafar's lamp!" Iago shouted, holding Aladdin's hair and glared at him in his face. "There's no way I could miss that!"

Aladdin looked doubtful. "Really? There's a lot of lamps just like it," he said.

"Come on!" Iago yelled as he let go of Aladdin and perched to the ground. "I was trapped in that thing for _months_! You think I wouldn't recognize it after that?"

"I think Abu thought so, too." Terra said pointing at the monkey who was making a temper tantrum on the ground, growling in the direction the small man took.

"We'd better go talk to the peddler." Aladdin said as he took off down the streets. The others followed.

* * *

The group walked into the peddler's shop. "Is there any way we can buy that lamp from you?" Sora asked him. The man held the lamp protectively.

"Of course, that is..." he said smirking. "_If_ you can afford it."

Ash saw Aladdin gesturing to them and grabbed Sora's shoulder. "No worries!" he told the peddler.

"Yeah, we can pay you in royal trea -" Donald began.

"Donald!" Sora hissed. The peddler raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Might I interest you in another fine lamp?" he asked turning around.

"I don't see any other lamps here." Ash commented. "But no, we would like that one."

"Very well, I will give it to you." he said and they all brightened. "_If_ you bring me a treasure beyond even my imagination. Something fit for say, a sultan."

"Why you greedy little...!" Ash growled. Terra chuckled and cracked his knuckles.

"Maybe we can... _persuade_ you." he said evilly. The short man gulped.

"I won't give in to violence!" he insisted. Ash laughed.

"Oh we'll see about that..." They were about to jump him when Sora and Goofy started dragging them away.

"Let us go!" Terra demanded as they were dragged out of the shop.

"Why'd you do that?" Ash asked annoyed. "We were about to open up a can of whoop..." he was cut of by Aladdin coming up to them.

"Treasure, huh?" he thought. "That could be tricky. But it's the only way to get that lamp."

"Not if we had something to say about it..." Terra muttered.

"There's lots at the palace." Donald said ignoring him.

"It's not mine to take." Aladdin argued. "And I can't ask. I don't wanna worry Jasmine or the Sultan."

"Hey, I know!" Iago cried. "What about the treasure in the Cave of Wonders?"

"That's not a bad idea." Sora said surprised. Aladdin nodded.

"Alright, Iago!" he said. "You lead the way. After we get the treasure, I might even believe your apology."

"You can count on me!" Iago said eagerly.

"Then let's go!" Ash said as they followed the parrot through the streets of Agrabah.

* * *

At some type of 'cave' which is shaped like a tiger's head, a certain fat guy walked into it, looking around in awe. After he walked in, the six of them and Iago walked into the area. "This is it." Iago announced.

"Wow..." Ash and Terra said.

"Okay, let's go." Sora said as they walked towards the cave. Ash noticed Goofy was bothered about something.

"You okay, Goofy?" he asked quietly. The dog turned to him.

"Something's bothering me about the look in Donald's eye..." he muttered. Ash turned to see Donald's eyes glinting greedily.

"There should be enough treasure in the Cave of Wonders to satisfy the peddler." Donald whispered. "The question is: is there enough to satisfy me..." Ash sweat dropped and made a note to keep an eye on Donald. They had to make their way through an expanse of traps, such as statues, ice and a strange trial. Eventually they made it through to the treasure room.

"That trial was a real pain." Ash complained.

"Tell me about it." Sora agreed. They all walked into the treasure room and gasped. There were mountains of gold. They turned their attention to a gold colored pedestal with gems on it.

"That one should do," Aladdin decided.

Pete came in, but when he noticed the quintet, he quickly hid himself. "That peddler's going to love this one," Ash remarked as Donald ran up to it.. Ash's attention was drawn to a small box. It was black with red velvet inside. He realized it was a ring box and inside were three silver rings, each adorned with diamonds. One red, one blue, and one pink. He heard a voice in his head to take it.

'_What if it's a trap?_' he thought. The voice kept going. _It's yours..._ Ash's eyes widened. '_Who are you?' _he demanded. _I am that you are standing within..._ Ash blinked. '_You're the cave?'_ he thought incredulously. _One is for yourself... do what you wish with the others... _Ash was skeptical. '_Why?_' he asked. _My gift to you... Chosen One..._ Ash took the box hesitantly. He relaxed when nothing happened. '_How did the cave know I'm the Chosen One?'_ Ash thought to himself. '_Is it some kind of deity?_'Ash could have smacked himself._ 'Of course it's a deity, it just talked to you!_' he scolded himself. Ash looked down at the box in his hands and took out the red ring, the more masculine one. He slipped it onto his ring finger and felt a power surge through him. He felt slightly stronger, both physically and magically. '_Cool_.' he thought. '_But what should I do with the others?_' His thoughts were interrupted when Aladdin shouted.

"Great! Now let's go get that lamp!" Ash quickly stuffed the box into his pocket and turned to the others. "We gotta keep Jafar bottled up, or he's gonna destroy Agrabah."

Meanwhile, Iago and Abu tried to lift up an ape-like statue made of gold holding a huge red gem. Donald tapped his foot and shook his head. "Stop!" he scolded, which startled them into dropping it. Donald stared at the gem, automatically drawn to its shininess.

Terra noticed this. "Snap out of it, Donald!" he shouted.

Donald shook his head vigorously, trying to snap out of it. "Now let's give it to the peddler," Ash said, making his way towards the treasure. Unbeknownst to them, Pete had chuckled silently began his way out, before snapping his fingers.

Before Ash could get the treasure, the room suddenly got dark. "Huh?" Everyone exclaimed in surprise. Suddenly, Heartless had surrounded them.

"Aw c'mon!" Sora complained, summoning his Keyblade. "Weren't those tests enough?" They fought them off for all of ten minutes before they finally stopped appearing.

"Phew..." Ash sighed.

"Let's get outta here!" Terra shouted.

"I second that!" Sora agreed as they bolted out the door, the others following. Ash grabbed the treasure and ran after them.

* * *

**Obtained**

*****Red Ring*****

*****Blue Ring*****

*****Pink Ring*****

* * *

The group ran into the peddler's shop, only to see that he isn't there. "Hello?" Aladdin called. No answer.

"Don't tell me he bolted!" Ash said annoyed. "After we went through all that shi -"

"Stop your whining and hand it over!" A rather familiar voice demanded outside the shop, getting the group's attention.

"Ohh, no!" The peddler shouted. "I'm trading it for treasure. This lamp is going to bring me riches!"

The group glanced at each other and ran out just in time to see Pete chasing after the peddler, who has the lamp. "Oh, no you don't!" Pete grumbled as he chased the peddler to the palace.

"After him!" Ash shouted, and the group chased after the fat guy and short man.

At the palace gates, Pete caught up to the peddler. "Thank you," he stated as he snatched the lamp.

Enraged, the peddler increased speed. "It's mine!" He yelled, as he dove for the lamp and grabbed it out of Pete's hands. Infuriated, Pete continued to give chase.

Sora and the company arrived at the scene. "Lamp hog!" Pete shouted.

"Go away!" The peddler ordered.

"Gotcha!"

"No fair!" The peddler yelled. Pete was holding the lamp up high in one hand, while using the other to restrain the salesman.

"Heh heh, I win!" Pete taunted at the peddler. At that moment, Iago flew by and grabbed the lamp with his talons. It took Pete a good ten seconds to realize it was gone.

"Nice one, Iago!" Sora shouted.

"Way to go!" Aladdin cheered.

"Don't drop it!" Donald advised.

"Get over here, will ya!" Terra told him.

"You're doing good!" Ash encouraged.

"Look! Behind you!" Goofy warned.

Behind Iago, both Pete and the peddler came running after him. The bird led them straight into a wall. The two chasers collided, while Iago barely escaped the crash. The peddler fell to the ground, out cold and Pete peeled himself from the wall, with a bad headache. He glared at Iago, who, in his pride, didn't notice that he was also heading for a wall.

"Ack!" Donald quacked. Pete laughed and picked up the dropped lamp.

"Nice try, bird brain." Pete mocked. "Just wait till Jafar's free! He's gonna make one beauty of a Heartless!" Sora charged to stop him when a violent rumblin shook the area. It lasted for a few moments, and everyone there was confused as to what the source was.

Ash looked up to the sky just in time to see a brighter blue shape come speeding toward them. It did a few twirls and loops and then shouted, "I'm _home_!"

"What the...?" Terra muttered.

"Al!" the being cried and glomped Pete. "It's been eons! Al, you princely little muffin, you! Cosmic travel can be so lonely without a friend. To think I left you forlorn and Genie-less… Oh, the _humanity_!"

"Genie?" Aladdin quietly mumbled.

"So that's Genie, huh?" Ash muttered.

Genie, meanwhile, gave a look at Pete. "Hey, Al, have you been puttin' on weight?" He asked as he bloated himself. He returned to his regular figure. "Aw, of course, what am I saying? You're living at the palace now." At the next two things, a Genie clone appeared, with girl make-up, and they imitated Aladdin and Jasmine.

"'Aladdin!'" The 'female' Genie clone exclaimed.

"'Jasmine!'" The original Genie exclaimed then they hugged each other. Fireworks appeared in the background and exploded, making a heart shaped one.

"Getting creeped out here...!" Terra hissed. Everyone sweat dropped at Genie.

"I can just picture it… Wait, tell me. Am I being a pest?" He queried, backing away to give, err… Pete some air. "Just a big blue pest? Aw, who cares, Al! I'm just so glad to _see _you!"

"Genie!" Aladdin shouted.

Genie looked between Aladdin and Pete. "Oops," he mumbled, dropping a dizzy Pete to the ground.

Pete quickly regained his senses and got up. "I'll teach you to make a fool out of me!" He shouted to Genie.

Genie ignored him and laughed as he hugged Aladdin. He looked behind Aladdin. "Sora, Donald, Goofy!" he shouted. "And who are those two?"

"I'm Terra and that's Ash." Terra replied.

"How many people am I going to have to be introduced to?" Ash muttered.

Everyone looked back at Pete, who yelled, "Time for Plan B! I'm finishin' you mugs off right now!" He slammed his fist onto the ground. In a dramatic display of fire and ice, the Blizzard Lord and Volcanic Lord Heartless appeared. Everyone brought out their weapons. Ash and Terra charged at Blizzard Lord, slashing at it. Sora, Donald and Goofy went for Volcanic Lord. The Blizzard Lord gathered ice around its mouth and was about to launch it at them. Ash jumped up and block the ice beam with his foot, causing it to bloat itself. Terra took this as his cue and slashed at its stomach like a baseball, right into Volcanic Lord. Sora, meanwhile blocked the Volcanic Lord as it was about to bodyslam him and sent it flying at Blizzard Lord. The two collided in an explosion. The group watched as two hearts rose from the smoke into the sky.

"You!" They heard Pete shout at them. "You've messed with me for the last time! I'm gonna get you yet!" He ran for the exit.

Genie and Aladdin gave each other a thumps-up. Just then, a flying purple carpet with gold and blue designs on it flew by, with Abu riding it. Iago flew overhead, the lamp safely in his beak.

* * *

The group was at the palace gates with Jasmine, where they explained to her what happened. "I promise - you won't regret giving me another chance." Iago swore. "Honest!"

"Uh, Princess Jasmine?" Genie started. "Are you sure you want that pigeon in the coop?"

"Oh I think that Iago has shown he means well." Jasmine said.

"You're probably right." he replied.

"And how much trouble can one noisy bird cause?" Sora joked. Genie laughed while Iago huffed.

"You might just have a point there, kid."

Jasmine turned to them. "What happens next, Sora?"

"Well, it was great seeing you all..." he responded. "...but we still need to find Riku and the King."

"And my friends as well," Terra added. "Ven and Aqua." Sora nodded.

"We've got to move on." Ash finished.

"I hope you find 'em." Genie said.

"Me too."

Donald looked around them. "Hey, where's Aladdin?"

"He's looking for Abu." Jasmine told them. "But he should be back by now..."

"Al can't miss Sora's big farewell party!" Genie gasped. "I'll have him back in a jiffy!" He then disappered in a very flashy way.

"Abu!" They heard Aladdin shout. They turned to the entrance just in time to see the monkey running with a huge red gem. "Catch him!" Aladdin ordered them.

Abu came to a screeching halt as Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Ash dove at him in slow motion and landed in a big dog-pile. Terra sweat dropped, walking over and picked the gem up. Donald stared at it, enchanted by its shininess.

Aladdin walked over to them. "He must have secretly stolen it from the Cave of Wonders."

After they had gotten up, Donald snatched the gem. "Abu!" He scolded the monkey. But then the duck became enthralled by the gem's shine once again.

"I guess some things are just hard to resist," Goofy reasoned as Donald became hypnotized by it.

Donald shook his head vigorously, trying to snap out of it. "Aw, who needs it!" He exclaimed and threw the gem. The others looked at where it landed, but Ash and Terra saw the gem hidden behind his back. Ash snatched the gem from Donald's hand. Donald, who realized the gem wasn't in his hand for five seconds, turned to Ash, who had an annoyed look on his face. The duck chuckled nervously. "Oh… I guess it got stuck!"

Ash rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right, Donald." Suddenly, the gem was surrounded by a familiar light, which brightened up the entire area. Sora and Ash were about to pull out their Keyblades, but Terra beat them to the chase. He quickly opened a new path.

"I wanted to try it myself." Terra shrugged.

Aladdin walked over to them. "Sora… What is it?" He asked, quiet surprised by all this.

Sora paused, and turned to Aladdin. "I think it's time for us to go," he replied.

Jasmine looked at Aladdin, then back to Sora. "Will you be back?" She asked.

"We will, I promise!" Sora assured them. Aladdin gave him a suddenly reappeared.

"Sorry, I couldn't find h - " he stopped upon catching sight of Aladdin. "Oh..." he mumbled embarrassed. He brightened once again and tossed Terra a cham shaped like a lamp. "If you guys need a hand, just say the word!"

"Thanks, Genie." Sora replied. Sora looked up at the sky suddenly. Everyone else did too, expecting to find something there besides clouds and something did appear, the Gummi Ship. "We'll be seeing you guys!" Sora called as they were beamed up."

* * *

At the same time this was happening, a girl around Sora's age stood on the beach, staring at an island. She has auburn hair and blue eyes, a white tank-top and purple skirt with a pink sleeveless dress over it, a necklace, and light pink shoes with black laces.

"Maybe…" she reasoned, "waiting isn't good enough."

"My thoughts exactly!" A voice echoed onto the beach, surprising her. "If you have a dream, don't wait. Act." A dark portal appeared, and a red headed man with aqua green eyes, maroon upside-down tear-drop tattoos under his eyes, and in a black cloak appeared in its place. "One of life's little rules. Got it memorized?"

"Who are you?" She asked the man, clearly confused by all of this.

"Axel," the man replied. "I happened to be an acquaintance of Sora's." Axel paused, and offered his hand to her. "Why don't we go see him?"

"…Sora?" She slowly repeated in disbelief. She started to think about it, but some barking interrupted her thoughts. A yellow cartoony dog with a green collar ran up to her and spun around, wagging his tail.

Out of nowhere, a few Dusks appeared and surrounded the two of them. The dog growled at the enemies.

A whistle sounded out from behind them. She turned around and saw another dark portal being formed. In response to the familiar whistle, Pluto ran over to the portal and barked at her, as if trying to indicate something.

"We've got something in common, Kairi," Axel insisted, sounding a bit desperate. "You and I both miss someone we care about. Hey… I feel like we're friends already." The Dusks started closing in on Kairi.

Kairi ran away from Axel and the Dusks. "You're not acting very friendly!" The two of them ran through the portal.

* * *

Kairi and Pluto looked around at the space around them. It was a mix of colors, with Nobodies' emblem all over the place. Of course, she didn't know that. "What is this place?" Kairi asked no one in particular, in awe of the place.

Another whistle was heard. They looked in the direction of the source. There was a bright portal ahead. The dog immediately ran through. Kairi hesitated before quickly following him. She looked back at the last second to see another man in a black coat, but with the hood pulled over his head. "Huh?" she mumbled as the portal closed behind her.

* * *

"Hey are you okay?" A boy's voice asked her unconscious form. Kairi groaned as she got off the floor. "What...?" she mumbled.

Hayner, Pence, Olette and the dog were staring at her. "You and that dog came flying out of a hole in the wall." Pence explained. "You nearly gave us heart attacks!"

* * *

**A/N: Not much new here, sorry. I'm making fillers while trying to get my thoughts sorted out. Atlantica will be done all at once.**


	17. Pride

**A/N: I think I'm running out of ideas o.O This chapter is kinda... bad.**

**Chapter 17 of Pokemon: Keyblade Masters**

**

* * *

**

Ash was once again staring out the window. Sora was whistling cheerfully as he piloted the ship. It was one of his favorite things to do, and he was extremely good at it as well. You'd think he was born flying a Gummi Ship, but no, he was a beach boy of all things. His musings by Terra.

"Hey, Ash..." he said. "Where'd you get that ring?" This caused everyone to look at him and the ring adorning his finger. He'd almost forgotten it.

"Wait a sec..." Sora said slowly. "Ash..."

"You got it from the Cave of Wonders didn't ya?" Goofy questioned.

"Well... yeah." he replied. Donald's feathers were ruffled.

"And you didn't get anything for me?" he demanded angrily. This caused a chain of laughs to errupt from the group. Donald glared at them all, for he was being serious.

"Well, no harm done." Sora said as he turned back to the controls. "Hey, a new world is coming up!" The others looked out the window to see world that consisted of a pointy rock, a graveyard of somekind and an oasis.

"The Pride Lands?" he asked reading the monitor. Sora shrugged.

"Never been there." he said.

"Neither have I." Terra added.

"Then let's check it out." They nodded and Sora piloted towards it. They talked for a while, Donald ignoring Ash the entire time, much to Ash's dismay and the amusement of the others.

* * *

Five beams of light shot down into the world and the quintet appeared. Sora took a look at himself. "Hey!" Sora shouted in surprise. "Check us out!"

The others looked down at themselves. Everyone noticed that Sora is a brown lion cub with white at the under belly and his spiky brown hair is a spiky mane; he has his crown necklace still.

Donald is a hornbill bird with his head still there, a blue sailor hat with a black 'ribbon', and has white feathers and blue at the 'fingers'.

Goofy is a tortoise with a yellow shell and golden yellow spots; he also has a green hat similar to his other one.

Terra was a rather bulky leopard cub with blue eyes and his Keyblade Master badge dangling from his neck.

Ash looked at himself to find that he was a cheetah cub. However he was slightly different from other cheetahs. He had a distinct ruff on his neck and the spots on his back blended together, resembling stripes. His Keyblade Master badge was dangling from his neck as well.

They then looked at their surroundings. They were in a clearing of a dark rocky expanse, with acid ponds that has green mist rising from them at the edges of the area. "This place is kinda creepy, though," Sora remarked.

Donald mumbled an agreement. Goofy gasped as they found themselves surrounded by hyenas.

One of them, with his tongue hanging out, laughed hysterically. Ash looked around at the dogs lining the cliffs above them. "Are they Heartless?" He asked.

"I dunno," Goofy said, "I get the feelin' they might live here."

"Don't mind us!" Donald announced. "Just passing through. We won't be any trouble."

Sora nodded hastily. "Yeah, that's right!" He added.

"Don't be silly," another one, a female, interrupted them as she circled them. "We'd love for you to stick around for lunch." Another one, a sane male, was circling them too.

"Um… we didn't bring anything to eat," Sora pointed out hesitantly, a bit nervous as well as the others.

The male laughed. "That's not gonna be a problem!"

Goofy gulped. "Gawrsh, Sora—I think _we're_ the lunch!" He said, as he realized it.

"Oh, lookie here!" the female grinned. "I _do_ love cheetah."

"Hey, that ain't no ordinary cheetah!" the male exclaimed. "It's one of them king cheetahs!"

"Even better..." the female said licking her lips. "I _love_ de-throning kings."

The tongue hanging hyena cackled insanely again then growled. Donald screeched and they started running, going in different directions. Sora tripped over his own feet on the first few steps and ended up on his back. "Going somewhere?" The sane one demanded, walking over to Sora. The other four were cornered as well.

The hyena over Sora got ready to bite, but then a roar sounded out through the clearing. The hyena groaned. "Man, that Scar's got the worst timing," he moaned.

"Just let him roar," the female advised.

The male shook his head. "Nah, we better go see what he wants," he said, "Sounds like he's grumpy enough already."

The female, sighed deeply. "Fine, lets go guys,"

All the hyenas left the clearing, leaving the quintet to sigh deeply in relief. They regrouped after calming down. "That was close," Ash remarked, "We would've been lunch to them."

Donald looked at Ash. "How are you able to walk fine?" He asked, dumbfounded.

"Oh, uh…" Ash sweat-dropped and chuckled sheepishly. "Back on my journey, I was turned into a Pikachu."

They looked at Ash incredulously. "What's a Pikachu?" Terra asked.

"Isn't Pikachu the electric mouse?" Goofy asked. Ash nodded.

"You were turned into an electric mouse?" Terra asked.

"Pretty much." Ash said not wanting to take the time explaining while they could be attacked at any moment.

"Anyway…" Terra began, then looked in the direction of where the hyenas left. "I dunno what that was about, but I'm glad it's over!" The others sighed, in agreement.

"Yknow, everything's harder on four legs…" Sora complained.

"Better start practicing!" Donald suggested.

"I found a trick to it," Goofy spoke up, "Here, lemme show ya..." While Goofy showed the others how to walked and Donald was practicing flying, Ash took the time to look around. Sora soon joined him, having got the hang of it rather quickly.

"I wonder what the hyena meant by king cheetah." Ash wondered. Sora shrugged as much as his new body would allow.

"Who knows?" he replied.

"Hey come on! We've got a world to explore!" Goofy's voice shouted to them. They just shrugged and walked after Goofy.

* * *

They soon found themselves in an area littered with elephant bones. "This place is even creepier!" Ash exclaimed. They heard a roar and turned just in time to see a lioness evading some Living Bone Heartless.

"Are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?" Sora asked.

"Heartless?" Donald asked.

"What do we do?" Goofy added.

"Guess now's the chance to get used to fighting like this." Terra said.

"Then let's go, she needs our help!" Ash said as he bolted towards the lioness at incredible speed. '_Whoa this is fast!_' Ash thought.

"Ash, wait up!" Sora shouted as they attempted to keep up with his new form.

"He's a cheetah, there's no hope in catching him..." Terra muttered. Ash reached the lioness in no time. The Heartless backed the lioness to a corner until Ash got between her and them.

"Stay back!" He ordered However, the Heartless didn't obey him. Ash growled as they approached. "Fine..." he summoned his Keyblade, however it didn't appear in his paw, but in his mouth. The lioness gasped in surprise. '_This is awkward..._' Ash thought as his friends made it to the scene, drawing out their weapons as well. Terra and Sora obviously didn't like having to use their blades in their mouths. Donald brandished his staff, which was held in his talons and Goofy has his shield on top of his shell.

Ash charged in first, doing a combo in the air and finished it by spinning in the air, like a drill. Then Sora did a combo then sends a Living Bone to the air a couple of times then released a burst of energy from his body. Donald meanwhile started casting magic, like Blizzard, to bombard them multiple times. Goofy started spinning, retracting his head, hands and feet into his shell; whacking one into oblivion. Terra jumped onto the Heartless's back, forcing it to slam into its comrade before destroying itself.

While they battle, the lioness watched in awe with her blue eyes.

After it was over, they regrouped. "Definitely Heartless," Sora decided.

"Thank you," the lioness mumbled. "You really saved me."

The quintet turned to her. "We're just glad you're okay," Goofy cheerfully said.

"Did you see any other Heartless around here?" Terra asked.

"Heartless… Is that what they're called?" She quiered. She put her head down. "I'm not sure if there are any others…" She brought her head up. "I don't usually hunt outside the Pride Lands."

"Hey..." Sora started. "Do you know if there's a guy named Riku there? Or some bad guys in black hoods? Or this really big bully named Pete?" She shook her head. Sora looked down.

"Heh, I'd like to see an Organization member like this..." Ash snickered. His snickering caught her attention. Her eyes were drawn to the stripes and they widened.

"Oh my gosh..." she muttered. "You're a king cheetah!" Ash sighed.

"What's the big deal...?" he muttered to his friends who shrugged. They were stunned as the lioness suddenly bowed, dipping her head low. "H - hey! What are you doing?"

"I'm so sorry, I didn't see you, your Majesty." she apologized. "A king cheetah has never visited the Pride Lands before."

"Wait, so Ash is a king?" Sora asked confused.

"No I'm not." Ash denied. "I'm sorry I think you're confused."

"Ash, stripes indicate royalty among cheetahs." Terra whispered to them. "I remember reading it somewhere."

"Cool!" Sora exclaimed.

"So what?" Ash asked.

"I don't know, just go with it?" he suggested.

"What? I can't... whatever..." he muttered he cleared his throat. "What's your name?"

"I am Nala, your Majesty." she replied. Inwardly, Ash groaned.

"I'm Ash." he replied. "And that's Terra, Sora, Donald and Goofy."

"Nice to meet you," Sora said. "So can you take us to the Pride Lands?"

"Well - the Pride Lands are very dangerous." she warned. "Scar and the hyenas have made things unbearable for everyone. There's no food left. They've driven off the prey. We're about to starve"

"We can handle a little danger." Sora insisted. "You just saw us beat those Heartless, didn't you?"

"I guess you're right." she admitted she turned to look at the three Keybladers. "You could be just what the kingdom needs. Maybe you can help us."

"You mean take on Scar and the hyenas?" Terra asked.

"Scar?" Donald repeated.

"He took over when our last king, Mufasa, died," Nala explained.

"So..." Sora started. "You're saying this guy is your king? You want us to take down your king?" She nodded. "Wait just a minute."

Sora ran over to his friends. "We can't just go around knocking kings off their thrones." Sora said. "Then again. If they see that I'm stronger than their king, maybe they'll ask me to be their next king!" he said excitedly.

"Sora..." Goofy began.

Sora laughed nervously. "I'd have to refuse, of course." he said. "Still, I'd like to see the Pride Lands, so you guys don't mind lending 'em a paw, right?"

"There they go again..." Donald muttered.

"I guess not..." Ash sighed. He and Sora walked over to Nala. "We'll help you, Nala."

She smiled and bowed. "Thank you, your Majesty."

Ash sighed. "Just call me, Ash..." he insisted. It seems she didn't hear him.

"I'll go ahead and tell the other lionesses." she said as she took off. Ash and Sora sweat dropped and turned back to the others.

"We have to meet her at a place called Pride Rock." Sora called to them.

"She didn't even give us directions!" Ash complained. "Anyway, let's just get out of here."

* * *

The quintet walked by the sleeping lionesses. They stopped as they saw Nala and a baboon with a staff come toward them. "That's him," Nala introduced Sora to the baboon.

The baboon stepped forward and got into Sora's face. "Uh…" Sora stuttered, "what?" The baboon stroked his white goatee as he took a gander at them.

The other lionesses sat up, looking at the strange event taking place. The baboon walked back to Nala and whispered something into her ear. Nala looked shocked for a moment then lowered her head in dismay. The lionesses went back to lying down.

"What is it?" Sora asked, rather bewildered at this point. The baboon walked back over, this time getting into Ash's face. Ash slowly back away. The baboon chuckled. The lionesses perked back up.

"Welcome to Pride Rock, your Majesty." he said. "Though I wish you didn't have to see it in the sorry state it's in." He then walked away. "I believe things will be getting very interesting..." he muttered.

"Again with the king thing..." Ash muttered.

"You'll only have to deal with it for a while, Ash." Sora assured him. Ash could feel the lionesses staring at him. "So what happened?" he asked Nala.

"I told Rafiki you might be able to help us force Scar and the hyenas out of the Pride Lands. But he says it won't work."

"Why's that?" Ash asked.

Nala continued, "You see, whoever saves the Prides Lands will be our next king… and he has to have he right qualities."

Sora was still confused. "Meaning…?" He asked.

"I think she means you're not cut out for the job Sora," Goofy explained. Sora sighed and hung his head, apparently disappointed.

"And our next king must be of lion blood," she said to Ash, who shrugged. "I'm sorry you came all this way."

"Hey, no - It's okay." Sora assured.

Nala stepped forward and lowered her voice. "You'd better go before Scar finds out you're here," she informed them. "I'm really sorry."

"It's fine," Ash said. "Guess we better get going then." And with that they turned to the exit. When they were about to leave, however, they were confronted by the three hyenas from before.

"Hey," the male said. "a snack."

"Where do you think you're going, little king?" the female asked. "You part of our five course meal."

The quintet backed up slowly and the roar that they all heard was off again. Everyone looked up at the overhanging rock behind them and spotted a tan colored lion with raven colored mane, a scar over his right eye, which is colored green with the other eye.

"Look at that, here comes Scar- the king," the male said.

The quintet spotted a familiar face beside him. It was a fat dark blue stupid-looking lion.

Sora gasped. "And Pete!" He exclaimed.

Scar leaped down onto the rocks beside him and landed on their level. As he approached them, Pete tried to do the same but he ended up bouncing off some of the rocks and landing on his stomach. The others sweat-dropped. The lionesses looked annoyed and embarrassed.

The three Keybladers were holding in their laughter. Pete slowly stood up on all fours. "My back…" he groaned.

"What are you doing here?" Sora asked in a laughter influenced voice.

Pete laughed despite his blunder. "Aw, the cute li'l kitty's worried about me," he remarked. "If I were you, I'd be more worried about my friends!" Sora turned back to the others, who were completely cornered by hyenas.

"Sora!" Donald shrieked.

"We're surrounded!" Goofy shouted in fear.

Scar turned to the lionesses behind him. "Go on, ladies-" he ordered, "-you've got some hunting to do."

"The herds have moved on, Scar," Nala pointed out, "We can't hunt in a land with no prey."

"No prey?" Scar repeated in disbelief. "Then what do you call this?" He asked, indicating the quintet. Sora and Ash were shocked.

"We're not prey!" Sora shouted.

"It looks like we're gonna have to fight..." Terra muttered.

"I don't think we can take all of them." Ash noted.

"You'd rather be eaten?" he retorted.

"Oh," Scar remarked. "Nice and fresh, too."

Pete turned to leave. "Well, they're all yours, Scar," he said to him. He then loped away.

Scar shifted his gaze back to Sora. "Hmph," he grunted as he got ready to pounce, but Nala tackled him right before he did. Everyone gasped.

"Run!" Nala ordered. They hesitated, but did as they were told.

Nala came up behind them and passed them. "Follow me!" She shouted.

* * *

"I'm sorry I got you involved in this..." Nala whispered looking down.

"It's no big deal," Sora replied.

"Aw, it's not your fault," Donald reassured her, "Sora wouldn't be a good king."

Everyone burst into laughter while Sora huffed. "Hey!" he shouted. "I had to give it a try, right?"

"So you _did_ want to be king!" Terra accused.

"Well, I uh..." Sora stuttered. "Uh, Nala? Isn't there anyone else who could be king?" he asked changing the subject.

Nala looked down once more. "There was, but he died when he was just a cub." she explained. "He was the son of our last king, Mufasa. If only Simba were here..."

Sora, Donald, Goofy and Ash blinked in surprise. "Simba? But he's just fine!" Sora said confused. "He was fighting right beside us not that long ago."

Nala looked shocked. "Simba's alive?" she shouted. "But where is he?"

"That..." Sora muttered. "I don't know."

"Still… Simba's alive!" She muttered to herself incredulously, "I can't believe it…" She then said out-loud, "Please—tell me more about him."

"Of course!" Sora replied.

Nala looked across the savannah. "But first," she started, "we should get away from Scar. We'll go through Wildebeest Valley. He won't follow us there."

* * *

The sextet arrived at the valley, and was immediately greeted by the sight of a huge hole in the path in front of them. Below was a long drop with several sharp rocks scattered along the bottom. "Woah…" Sora mumbled as he looked down, his voice trembling a little.

Nala backed up, ran up to the hole and leaped over it, successfully landing on the other side. "Wow!" The quintet said in unison. A light bulb went of in Ash's head as he looked at the wall. He back up.

"Ash..." Sora said slowly. "What are you - DOING?" he finished with a shout as Ash ran towards the cliffside. Instead of jumping over it, he used his momentum to allow him to run along the wall. He landed on the other side. He opened his eyes and grinned.

"I love being a cheetah!" he shouted before fainting. Everyone sweat dropped. Terra backed up and leapt clear across.

"Jeez, is everyone gonna one-up us?" Donald muttered.

"What's your problem, Donald?" Sora asked annoyed. "You can _fly_."

The duck blinked before grinning. "Oh yeah!" he exclaimed as he simply flew across.

"What's wrong?" Nala yelled back to them, her voice echoing across.

"We're never going to make it!" Sora called back.

Nala sighed, shaking her head a bit. "I guess Rafiki was right," she said to herself.

"What?" Sora shouted, not hearing her.

Nala shook her head. "Never mind," she yelled back, "It's not important. Here, I'll show you how. You can do it!"

_A few minutes later_

Sora sprang forth, leaping across the huge hole and landing on his feet next to Ash, who had just woken up, Terra, Donald, Goofy, and Nala. How Goofy got across, Ash will never know.

"Anyway, when Simba's father, King Mufasa, died," Nala continued as they continued walking, "we were told that Simba died alongside him."

Sora and the others were intrigued. "Who told you that?" Sora asked.

Nala stopped in her tracks as the realization hit her. "Scar," she replied.

They then heard footsteps. Everyone turned back and saw Rafiki. "It is time," the old baboon declared. He pointed his staff at the path onward.

Nala looked happier. "It must be Simba!" She exclaimed. She started running. "Sora! Hurry!"

The others hadn't been given a warning. "…Wait up!" Sora called after her as he tried to catch up. Ash caught up quickly.

"You guys are really slow." he complained.

"We can't all be cheetahs." Terra grunted. Ash laughed as they ran onwards.

* * *

They passed through the wastelands and into a jungle, finding themselves at an oasis. Unfortunately Nala ran off on her own upon entering the jungle. The quintet saw Simba surrounded by Aerial Knocker Heartless. The lion roared loudly, which made all of the Heartless faded into darkness.

"Simba!" Sora called out as they ran to him. Simba spotted them and got into a fighting pose. Sora stopped in his tracks with the others, seeing that Simba thought they were a threat. "I-It's me- Sora! Donald and Goofy are here, too!"

Simba slowly approached them and stared at them for a moment. His eyes widened. "Sora! Donald! Goofy!" He exclaimed. He pounced onto Sora and nuzzled his stomach, which was the lion equivalent of a big hug, apparently. Donald, Goofy, Ash, and Terra laughed at the sight. Simba looked at the two.

"Who're they?" Simba asked, indicating Ash and Terra.

"These two are our new friends, Ash and Terra," Sora replied, "They've been traveling with us for a while."

"Hiya," Ash greeted.

"Nice to meet you." Simba said politely.

Simba turned his gaze back at the trio he had known back at their first quest. "What happened to you?" He wondered. Before any of them could answer, they heard some screaming from the jungle.

"Help! Simba! Heeelp!" Timon's voice called out.

"She's gonna eat us!" Pumbaa's voice added.

"Timon?" Simba shouted. "Pumbaa?" He turned to Sora, who had finally gotten up. "Something must've happened in the jungle! I have to go help my friends!" He dashed into the jungle.

Sora nodded. "Okay, we'll back you up!" Sora called out. They chased after Simba.

"Did they say 'she'?" Terra asked as they ran.

"You don't think...?" Sora began.

In the jungle, the person closed in on Timon and Pumbaa, who were both trembling in fear and jappering incoherently. The being turned out to be Nala, who started to pounce but Simba tackled her halfway.

The others arrived just in time to see that and they all stopped. "Simba! Wait!" Sora shouted.

Simba and Nala started to fight. "Stop!" Donald shouted at them.

"It's Nala Simba!" Ash added, "Don't you recognize her?" The fight continued for a few more seconds, until finally Nala was on top of Simba.

Simba finally calmed down and stared at Nala in shock. "Nala?" He asked. Nala did a take, confused by this, and got off him. She gave him a funny look. Simba added, "It's me, Simba!"

Nala gave him a good look then finally recognized her old friend. "Simba!" She exclaimed happily. The two bonked heads and circled each other. "You are alive!"

Timon and Pumbaa just looked on in shock, mostly Timon though. "Hey! What's goin' on here?" Timon demanded as the quintet walked up from behind them. The two turned back to the quintet. The two stared at them and the quintet stared back. Timon and Pumbaa just screamed bloody murder and ran off.

Timon hid behind Simba's front paw. "Don't worry," Simba assured him. "They're all friends of mine."

Timon slowly stepped away from his hiding spot, his nerves still shot. "So that means… nobody's planning to eat anybody else for lunch, right?" He implored, a tad freaked out.

Sora nodded. Ash turned his head and saw Pumbaa hiding in a corner. "Are you sure they don't wanna eat me like I'm some kinda pig?" He shrieked.

"We won't..." Terra promised. "But you _are_ a pig, right?"

Pumbaa turned around sharply. "Call me Mr. Pig!" Everyone laughed for a while at that.

After the mirth passed, Simba leaned down and said to Timon, "Could you guys excuse us for a few minutes?"

Timon shrugged. "Why am I not surprised?" He asked boredly. Simba and Nala walked back to the oasis together.

Sora glanced at Timon. "So how do you guys know Simba?" He asked.

Timon laughed. "'How do we know him'?" He repeated. "Okay, it's kinda like this…"

While Timon was explaining to them of how they met Simba, Goofy glanced around. "Huh?" he muttered. "Where'd Terra and Ash go?"

* * *

"You sure love eavesdropping, Terra." Ash whispered.

"And you don't?" he retorted as they hid in the nearby bushes, watching the two lions interact. "Gotta love camouflage." Terra added.

"Why is it you only eavesdrop on two lovers?" Ash asked him.

"I need to take notes." Ash fell over.

"And you're going to observe the behavior of two lions...?" Ash asked after picking himself up.

"...shut up." Terra commanded. Ash sighed and listened in.

"…I can't go back," Simba replied to something Nala said, shaking his head.

Nala turned back to him, shocked. "Why?" She asked.

Simba was silent for a moment, before replying, "Hakuna matata," walking up to her. "It's something I learned out here. Sometimes bad things happen and there's nothing you can do about it."

He walked by her and to the cliff of where he was before. "Simba…" Nala was at lost for words.

Ash stared at them, after hearing what they had said. "I wonder what happened…?" He asked himself quietly. His thoughts were broken when he suddenly heard:

"Hakuna!" He turned to the entrance of the oasis and saw Timon, Pumbaa and the other four in something that resembled a conga line. Ash also realized that it was Timon that said that.

"Matata!" The quartet and Pumbaa shouted. They repeated it again until they saw Nala walking away from Simba, making them stop abruptly.

"He's not the Simba I remember," she muttered to herself. "Something about hakuna matata…"

"What's wrong with her?" Pumbaa asked. Sora shrugged and turned to see Terra and Ash sitting with Simba.

"Listen Simba," Terra began, "…I'm not sure not happened to you that made you think like this, but the past won't just disappear, even if there's nothing you can do about it." Terra continued. "Sometimes bad things do happen, but it's not only on you, everyone else has bad times too."

"We learn from our mistakes..." Ash started. "The past, it defines who we are. Look at the past in hopes of creating a better future. Glance at it and remind yourself, but don't dwell there."

Simba, sensing that the lecture was over, walked by without a word and disappeared into the jungle; the quartet walked up to Ash and Terra after Simba left. "Good job, Terra." Ash said.

Terra nodded. "Thanks..." he muttered. "I have personal experience..." Ash nodded sadly. "I think I'm going to take a nap..." he muttered. Everyone watch him as he walked off.

"We all might as well." Ash said. They nodded in agreement and found somewhere comfortable to lay down.

* * *

Ash opened his eyes to the familiar feel of stained glass under his feet, or rather paws. "A - Ash?" he heard. He spun around to see Aqua standing there dumbfounded. She suddenly started giggling. Soon the giggling turned hysterical. Ash looked away in embarrassment. "Oh, you're so _cute!_" she squealed as she sat down to picked him up and hugged him. Ash squirmed. He would be blushing if he was capable of it. Then the scratching began. First it was under the chin. Then the neck. Finally... behind the ears.

"Are you purring?" she asked giggling. Ash glared at her. "I'm guessing you're in a world filled with animals?"

"...yes..." he ground out. Then she started scratching him again. Dear Arceus... "Would... you... stop?"

"But I like hearing you purr." she giggled.

"But... I have... something you... might wanna hear." he managed. This caught her attention.

"What is it?" she asked curiously. Ash took a few moments to rearrange his thoughts. He looked at her seriously.

"I saved Terra." he said. Her eyes widened and she nearly dropped him.

"Y- you what?" she asked.

"I saved Terra," he repeated. "He's with us now. He also happens to be a _very_ nosy person."

Aqua giggled slightly before turning serious again. Her eyes glistened. "Ash..." she hugged him to her chest tightly. "Thank you..." Again, Ash would have blushed.

"No problem." he said. Ash felt something moist hit his head. He looked up to see silent tears rolling down her cheeks. "Hey, no crying." he said softly as he used his tail to wipe her tears away. Aqua smiled at him as she wiped her eyes.

"You're right," she whispered as she leaned down and kissed his head. "this is our time together." Once again, Ash would have blushed. He didn't say anything, merely wrapped his tail around her as she held him in her arms.

* * *

"Ash, wake up!" Sora shouted. Ash groaned and turned over. Sora sighed and turned to the others. Timon and Pumbaa shared a grin.

"We'll handle this!" Timon declared. Pumbaa walked up to Ash, and to the horror of Sora, Donald, Goofy and Terra, farted in his face. Ash's eyes flew open.

"DEAR ARCEUS!" he shrieked as he jumped ten feet into the air. He ran around screaming until he fell into the nearby pool of water. He didn't surface until several minutes later, where he found everyone laughing at him. "That was _not_ funny!" he snapped.

"C'mon, Ash!" Sora called after their mirth had died down. "We gotta find Simba!"

'_Right, he went off on his own._' Ash remembered. "There he is!" Terra whispered. They all turned and hid behind the bushes, so they won't be seen. They also noticed it was very early in the morning, and the sun hadn't come up yet.

"My father's dead," Ash heard him mumbling to himself. "And it's because of me… It's my fault."

"I can't go back…" Simba continued, "It won't change anything." he seemed to be remembering something.

Simba looked up at the stars. "Father…" He begged, getting odd looks from his unknown watchers, "are you there?" Suddenly, a swirl of clouds started to expand and swirl and glow. Simba and the other, hidden, audience, gasped.

An image Simba's father, Mufasa, appeared in the center of the swirl. "Simba…" Mufasa scolded his son calmly, "you have forgotten who you are. You must take your place in the Circle of Life."

"How can I go back?" Simba demanded. "I'm not who I used to be."

"Remember who you are," Mufasa's image insisted. After a few moments the image began to fade. Simba tried running toward it, but he stopped at the cliff. When he looked up again, the whole cloudy expanse was gone.

Simba sighed and smirked. "You can all come out now." They all reluctantly walked out of the bushes. "I'm going back to face my past. I could use your help."

Timon smiled. "He really is a king…" He marveled. The sun rose directly behind Simba, making him seem to glow.

* * *

"Wait a minute," Timon demanded. "We're gonna fight your uncle for _this_?" he asked gesturing towards the savannah.

Simba looked back at his comrades, then back to Pride Rock. True, it wasn't a great piece of real estate, but… "Yes, Timon," he replied, "This is my home."

Scar looked over his remote kingdom. Nothing was out of order… yet. His ears twitched as he picked up a sound. He looked up at the rocks behind him. There was Simba, glaring down at him. Scar gasped in disbelief as Mufasa's son leaped down and started to approach him. "Simba!" He blurted out. "You're… alive!"

"This kingdom doesn't belong to you," Simba stated.

Nala and the quintet came up behind him. "Simba's the rightful king!" She added.

Simba walked toward Scar, who stepped back until he was cornered. "The choice is yours, Scar," Simba told him. "Either step down or fight."

Scar glanced at the wall behind him, seeing no way out in that direction. "Must this all end in violence?" He asked. Scar slowly walked past Simba. "I'd hate to be responsible for the death of a family member, Simba…"

"I've put the past behind me," Simba told him.

"Yes, but what about your faithful subjects?" Scar asked him, indicating the other lionesses.

Nala looked confused. "Simba, what is he talking about?" She asked.

Scar circled Simba with an air of triumph. "Go on," Scar said, "Tell them who's responsible for Mufasa's death!"

"...I am..." Simba said quietly. Nala gasped.

"He admits it!" Scar sneered as he back Simba to the edge of the rock. "Murderer! If it weren't for you, Mufasa would still be alive. Do you deny it?"

"No!" Simba exclaimed as he was backing away. "It was an accident!"

"You're in trouble again." Scar continued. "But this time, Daddy isn't here to protect you. And now, everyone knows why."

Suddenly Simba slips over the edge. He gasped and held on. "Now this looks familiar..." Scar mumbled. "I think I've seen this before. Oh, yes! I remember. This is just the way your father looked... before he died." Scar then grabs Simba with his claws, making him cry out in pain. "And here's my little secret..." he whispered. "_I_ killed Mufasa."

Simba's eyes widened before turning enraged. He pounced back up, pinning Scar under him. "Murderer!" he snarled. "Tell them the truth."

"Alright, alright!" he shouted. Then whispered. "I did it."

"Louder!" Simba demanded.

"I... Killed... Mufasa!" Scar shouted. Suddenly the hyenas swarmed out of the cave and attacked Simba, knocking him off Scar. The black lion fled into the cave as the hyenas surrounded Simba.

"Simba!" Sora shouted running up to him. "You get Scar, we'll handle these guys!" Simba nodded and ran after Scar. More hyenas appeared and surrounded Sora.

Suddenly, Timon and Pumbaa came in (with Timon on Pumbaa) and they charged into the group of hyenas.

"'Scuse me! Pardon me! Comin' through!" Timon shouted as the hyenas went flying.

Ash grinned. "Cool." He didn't notice a hyena sneaking up on him. It was about to pounce on him until a staff whacked it. Ash looked up and saw Rafiki, yelling a battle cry and jumped down from the rock he was on. He stared the hyenas down and they attacked him; however, he fought back with his staff and his hands and feet, kung-fu style. A hyena dizzily rose behind Rafiki until he backhanded it without looking. Ash, who witnessed that, was awestruck. "Whoa… kung-fu monkey…" He muttered.

"Thank you, your Highness." Rafiki bowed before running off. Ash sweat dropped. He had forgot about that. He then turned to see Timon and Pumbaa screaming, being chased by hyenas, into the cave. Ash quickly followed.

Timon meanwhile continued to run away from them until he was cornered. He turned around and nervously backed up to the wall as the hyenas closed in on him. "Hey, you leave him alone!" Ash demanded as he charged in front of Timon and whipped out his Keyblade.

The three chuckled to themselves and approached closer until…

"Hey!" They turned their heads to Pumbaa, who's at the entrance, glaring at them. "Are we havin' a problem here?"

"Hey, what's with the pig?" Banzai asked looking at Pumbaa, puzzled.

Pumbaa narrows his eyes angrily as he snapped while speaking like Robert De Niro, "Are you talkin' ta me?"

"Uh oh. They call him a pig," yelped Timon to Ash concerned, as he realized what just happened. Ash looked at Timon curiously. He's used to it? Or has he seen this many times before?

"Are you talkin' ta me?" Pumbaa repeated, more angrier now.

"You shouldn't have done that," Timon told a confused Shenzi.

"ARE YOU TALKIN' TA ME?" Pumbaa yelled in the angriest of voices.

"Now they're in for it," Timon said to himself in amusement.

"THEY CALLED ME… MISTER PIG!" Pumbaa roared. He then roared and charged at the shocked Hyena Trio. Sora, Donald, Goofy and Terra came in just in time to watch as Pumbaa pummeled the hyenas. Ash cringed.

"Didn't know it bent that way..." he muttered.

After some time, the three hyenas ran out of the cave, yipping like little puppies with their tails between their legs. Nala came in just in time to see them running out. "Nala!" Sora exclaimed. Nala spotted them and ran over.

"You're all okay!" Nala exclaimed, seeing that they were unharmed.

"Yeah, thanks to Pumbaa," Ash added, making the warthog blush.

"Aw, shucks," Pumbaa replied bashfully.

"Anyway, where's Simba?" Sora asked. Nala turned to the path that led up to the peak of Pride Rock.

"He went up there." she said.

"Okay, let's go!" Ash declared, and took off. The quartet quickly followed.

* * *

The quintet raced up to the flat peak, where they saw Simba and Scar circling each other. They noticed Simba panting in exhaustion. "Simba!" Donald shouted, getting ready to charge in.

Sora raised a paw to stop him. Donald gave him a look. "This is his fight, Donald," Sora told him.

Time seemed to have been slowed as the two lions exchanged a few blows, and Scar knocked him down near the edge of the peak. Simba looked up just in time to see Scar jumping toward his to make the final blow. Thinking quickly, Simba used his hind feet to propel him forward as soon as he landed, sending Scar plummeting over the edge.

"NOOOOOOOoooooooo…" They heard Scar's voice as he fell to his death. Simba looked over the edge of the cliff.

"You're okay!" Sora shouted as the quintet ran to the middle. Simba went up to join them. Before they could celebrate, they heard:

"Aw that was just a sneak preview!" Pete shouted as he round the corner. "Cause this ain't over, not by a long shot!" Pete pointed his paw at the cliff. The sextet looked to where Scar was flown off. After a few seconds, Scar's paw appeared and grabbed the edge of the peak. Everyone except Pete jumped in surprise. "Anger and jealousy turned the king of Pride Rock into a Heartless!" Pete informed them as Scar pulled himself up.

"Oh, your kingdom's gonna rise again… But this time, as the Pride Lands of Darkness!" Pete exclaimed with an evil grin.

"Clever..." Terra muttered sarcastically.

Scar leaped over the edge and faced the five of them, ready for one last fight. The sky around them turned to a dark blue, and the floor of the peak became transparent, revealing some king of huge skeleton beneath the surface. Simba stepped forward. "That's what you think!" He retorted. Everyone got into a fighting stance.

Pete grinned evilly and disappeared, thinking that Scar's Heartless could finish them. Scar immediately charged at them. They scattered and Scar started chase after Ash. Scar suddenly pounced on, pinning him to the ground. Ash retaliated, kicking him in the stomach, sending them rolling over as they both fought for the upper hand. The others couldn't do anything in fear of hurting Ash. He then kicked away, leaving Scar stunned. This was their opening as they launched their attacks on him. Simba and Sora combined their attacks, slashing at Scar at rapid speed, and ended in an earth shattering roar. The chunks of earth hit Scar at blinding speed. Scar powered up and sent fireballs at them, Terra weaved through them, slashing at him with his Keyblade. Sora and Ash came up from behind, slashing him as well. Finally, Scar collapsed. He staggered up to his feet and slowly stepped toward them, trying to reach them. Then a light left his body, and Scar collapsed. Never to rise again.

"It's over..." Ash muttered.

* * *

Later, the quintet, Timon, Pumbaa, and the lionesses watched as Simba walked forward on the overhanging rock to assume his authority. At the end of it, Simba roared. The lionesses roared in unison. A cloudy expanse appeared in the distance in front of Simba, and the image of Mufasa appeared once more. The imaged smiled at Simba as a ray of light beamed down onto Simba. The light looked rather familiar.

Sora, Ash and Terra held the Keyblades between their teeth and used their tails to open the gate.

As the light faded, Timon was left with a surprised look on his face. "Hey, what's with the light show?" He asked.

Sora turned to him and Pumbaa. "We have to say good-bye for a little while," Sora explained.

"I'll go tell Simba," Pumbaa offered. The other four turned to face them. "Aw, he's prob'ly busy," Goofy informed them, "Just tell him we'll be back soon."

Timon sighed. "Oh, that's right—he's king now," he recited, "He's gonna be so busy he'll prob'ly forget about his two best buddies."

Sora walked over to them. "Well, you always got hakuna matata, right?" He implored.

"Guess so," Pumbaa admitted.

Timon was outraged. "Whaddya mean, 'Guess so'?" He shouted and the whole world heard. "What if he forgets to tell the carnivores who we are? One look at you, and you're a pig roast!"

"That's _Mister _Pig Roast," Donald corrected him.

"Same thing!" Pumbaa declared, looking all panicky. "And I'm not sticking around to be anybody's pork dinner!" His panic level reached its peak and he ran off at break neck speed.

"Pumbaa! WAIT FOR ME!" Timon yelled, running at the same speed as his friend as he went after him.

The quintet looked on. "You can never forget your true buddies," Sora stated.

Ash smiled at that statement. "Yeah…" He agreed as the Gummi Ship beamed them up.

* * *

**A/N: Something about this Chapter feels very strange to me... Oh well. Next stop, Halloween Town.**


	18. A Spooky Christmas

**A/N: This Chapter was actually pretty fun to write XD. WARNING! This Chapter contains crack! I say if you don't like something, turn it into crack! If you don't enjoy crack then skip this chapter, nothing really important happens anyway!**

**Chapter 18 of Pokemon: Keyblade Masters**

**

* * *

**

"At least I don't have to deal with the pressures of royalty anymore." Ash said jokingly.

"King cheetah..." Terra muttered. "what was the point of that?" Ash shrugged.

"Beats me." he said as he looked out the window. '_Guys,_' Ash thought of his friends. _'I'll find you again some day, but right now, my new friends need me._'

"Hey, I think we know that world!" Goofy called to them. Everyone looked out the window. Ash saw a pumpkin with a scary face and gothic buildings on it.

"It's Halloween Town!" Sora exclaimed happily.

"The other Jack?" Ash asked.

"Yup!" Goofy said. "Jack Skellington!"

"A town based on Halloween, huh?" Terra said smirking. "Sounds pretty cool."

"Then let's go check it out!" Ash said as Sora piloted towards Halloween Town.

* * *

The five of them walked to a scarecrow with a pumpkin head, pointing the direction with 'Halloween Town' on the sign. Now the five looked different in this world.

Sora was in a gothic version of his traveling clothes, with bat wings on his back, fake vampire teeth, and a flat pumpkin head on the side of his head.

Donald was completely covered up in mummy bandages, except for his mouth and the part where he was cut in half; there was a gap between his chest and his hips, but Donald was able to move like it was nothing.

Goofy was only wearing a ragged old outfit, a big bolt in his head, and his eyes looked crazed.

Terra was a werewolf his dark brown hair had become his fur. His outfit was only one piece of clothing; ripped up jeans.

Ash looked down at himself he was wearing a black cloak, remarkably similar to an Organization cloak. It took him a few moments to realize he was looking through a mask. He quickly summoned his Keyblade and looked at his reflection. He nearly jumped when all he saw was an eerie white mask with its mouth wide open as though in 'Scream'.

"Hey, Ash - Ah!" Sora jumped upon seeing his friend. Ash looked down to see that he was holding a 10.5 inch knife. He felt it and found it was fake and rubbery. Ash shoved it it into a pocket. "What are you?" he asked.

Ash shrugged. "No idea. Just don't answer the phone." Ash blinked. '_Where'd that come from?_'

Sora blinked. "Okaaaay..."

"Gawrsh, been a while since we've been to Halloween Town," Goofy commented.

Donald spoke up. "Well, it certainly does look like Halowee... Wha?" he turned to the path to town. There were red lights shining from the sides of the path.

The others noticed this too. "Are those… Christmas lights?" Ash asked as they all sweat-dropped.

Suddenly, a ghost-like dog came flying by the group, barking madly. Sora was the first to recover from the scare. "Hey, it's Zero!" He exclaimed, "How've you been, boy?"

The ghost dog flew down the path to the town square. They just stood there for a moment. "Let's follow him guys!" Ash suggested, then they followed him.

As they came into the town square, they lost sight of Zero. Not that it mattered, because a new sight came before them. There were more Christmas decorations everywhere. "What's with all the Christmas decorations?" Terra asked. Before anyone could say anything, they all heard a noise above them. Something like bells ringing.

Donald looked up. "It's Jack!" He shouted. Everyone else looked where Donald pointed, and they saw a tall skeletal guy in a black tuxedo riding in some sort flying coffin pulled by skeletal reindeer with a big container behind it.

The coffin-sleigh flew down to the ramp in front of them and landed. The skeleton stood up and waved to the familiar trio.

"Sora, Donald, and Goofy!" He called. "Welcome back, and Merry Christmas!" He looked at Ash and Terra. "Who're they?"

"Hey, Jack." Sora waved. "This is Ash and Terra, new friends of ours."

Sora was confused. "Merry Christmas?" He queried, "Don't you mean 'Happy Halloween'?"

Jack nodded. "Of course," he said, "Halloween greetings from Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King." He ended that sentence with great flourish, getting right into Ash's face and scaring him nearly out of his wits. "That's a very nice look you have, very scary."

"Um, thanks." Ash said backing away slightly.

Jack stood back up. "Forgive me," he said, "I'm in a Christmas mood. You see, I'm running the show again this year but I need Sandy Claws' blessing, so I'm off to Christmas Town," Jack finished his explanation.

The five stood in a circle. "Sandy Claws?" Sora wondered.

"I'm thinking he means Santa Claus." Terra reasoned.

Jack jumped onto the fountain in the center of the square. "Aren't these decorations wonderful?" He queried, "This year, Halloween Town's going to handle Christmas too!"

"But first!" He added, drawing their attention back to him. "We have to visit Sally. She's working on something no self-respecting Santa Claus can do without."

"At least he got the name right this time." Terra mumbled.

Jack motioned for the others to follow. "Come along- I'll show you," he proposed, and started walking toward a tall narrow building on the other end of the square.

Sora thought about the idea. "A Halloween Town Christmas…" He muttered. Ash, Terra, Donald and Goofy took a glance around the square. The guillotine, the scary toys, and the skeletal reindeer made the four of them shudder uncontrollably.

"That would be one scary Christmas..." Ash muttered.

"Wanna go check it out?" Sora asked, once again oblivious to the others. The other four sighed and hung their heads in resignation with their eyes shadowed.

"C'mon, hurry!" Jack shouted at them. The quintet followed Jack after a few moments.

* * *

An old, pale guy with black sunglasses covering his eyes, a white lab coat, black latex gloves and black boots, is on an automatic wheelchair; was working on an experiment in what appears to be a lab. There are three little kids, one in red, one in a pink dress, and one in purple; with Halloween masks on, were working with a piece of metal.

The old guy looked over a huge book. He opened up his metal head and rubbed his brain, obviously as a habit. Jack walked in casually with the others. "Hello Dr. Finkelstein!" Jack greeted the doctor. "Where's Sally?"

The doctor glanced at him. "Can't you see that I'm in the middle of an experiment?" He demanded angrily, quite irate at the interruption, closing his metal head. He turned his wheelchair around and went over to the table.

The quintet looked over to the three kids as they lift a piece of metal and carried it. "Who're those three kids?" Ash asked.

"Those three are Lock, Shock, and Barrel," Sora replied, pointing to each of them respectively. "They used to work for Oogie Boogie on our very first visit here."

A lady that looked sewed together, brown hair that goes to the middle of her waist and a dress that has been sewed; came in through the door and watched silently as well. She didn't look too hopeful.

"Hey, this is way too heavy!" The red one, Lock, complained.

"Then let's toss it!" The one in pink, Shock, suggested. They all nodded.

The doctor shot a deadly look at them. "You do and you'll be sorry!" He shouted at them. "Now bring it over here!"

However, the mischievous trio ignored the doctor and yelled, "Heave-ho!" as they launched the load over to the table. The metal landed on the table with a crash. It sparked for a few seconds before exploding. The woman sighed. The trio took off their masks and cackled evilly, then ran for the door.

Dr. Finkelstein slammed his hands onto the table. "Imbeciles! Now my experiment is ruined!" He shouted.

The lady watched as the kids ran past her, then she faced Jack. Jack looked excited. "Sally! Did you finish it?" He asked. "I want to show my good friends."

She looked solemn. "I'm sorry, Jack," she apologized. "I... I need a little bit more time."

Jack paused for a moment. "Ohh... Well, that's all right," he said. "Just as long it's ready for Christmas!"

Sally didn't change her expression as Jack passed her. "But... Jack..."

Jack turned back to all of them as he approached the door. "I'd best be off," he announced. "I've got to go get Sandy Claws, right away!" He waved at Sora, Donald, and Goofy. "Wonderful to see you again," he added, indicating to the trio. "And nice to meet you two! Good-bye for now!" He walked out.

Sora began to think again. "Go get Santa Claus..."

Sally turned to Sora after Jack was out of earshot. "Please, Sora. I'm afraid something terrible will happen if Jack goes through with this," she pleaded.

Donald nodded vigorously. "You can say that again!" He agreed.

Sora was silent. "Sora?" Goofy asked.

Terra walked up to Sora, to see why he's silent, and made a look. Sora was looking up with a giddy expression on his face.

"Excuse me?" They heard Jack's voice and turned to him as he walked back in. "Are those strange-looking fellows in the town square with you?"

The quintet glanced at each other. "Um... What fellows?" Ash asked.

"You know, the ones who wanted to spoil Halloween _and_ Christmas?" Jack asked searching for a name. "What are they called again...? Heartless?"

"They're definately not with us!" Sora denied. "But Ash, Terra, Donald, Goofy and I can take care of them for you." His childlike excitement back suddenly. "And then we can go see Santa!"

Donald put his hands on his hips and started tapping his foot, glaring at Sora. The other three also gave him meaningful glances. Sora looked back at them, saw the looks, and hastily added, "But first, the Heartless!" The four rolled their eyes before they followed Jack out.

"Now hear this you... you things!" A short man in a black tuxedo with two faces that switches when he's either happy or sad, and has a ribbon that said 'Mayor' on his shirt; shouted through a megaphone at the Wight Knight Heartless in the town square. "Leave Halloween Town at once... by order of the mayor!"

Naturally, the Heartless neither budged nor responded. "Jack?" The mayor cried out. "Where are you? I'm only an elected official- I can't handle this by myself!"

The six of them ran out of the lab and faced the Heartless. Hearing the mayor's last sentence, Terra muttered, "He's supposed to be the mayor of this town?"

Jack ran up to the mayor. "Jack!" The mayor shouted as he ran away.

The six of them got into fighting stances. "We're on it!" Sora shouted. During the fight, Ash got to see Jack's fighting style. He used magic, and magic only. Jack used Fire, Blizzard, and Thunder in very flashy ways, catching the Heartless off guard. And the town square is kinda... dangerous. The guillotine would fall on them if they weren't careful. The fountain would fire some king of green fluid at them. Ash didn't want to know what it was. The gates would slam into them and the sewers shot out the same green fluid the fountain did.

After it was over, Jack thought out loud. "How is Sandy Claws supposed to relax with all these Heartless running around?" He turned to the quintet. "He's going to need bodyguards!"

"And you're expecting us to be the bodyguards?" Ash guessed. Jack nodded and grinned. Ash sighed heavily.

"Sure, we're up for the job!" Sora replied to the sentence. The other four gave Sora a look. Sora turned to Ash. "You seem as though you don't want to see Santa!" he accused.

"Yeah, Ash," Terra agreed. "I thought you would have done anything to see Santa."

"I had a bad Christmas experience..." Ash muttered. They looked at him. "Well..."

_Flashback_

_A young boy was sitting in Father Christmas' lap. "Okay, Santa," the boy began. "I really, really want world peace."_

_Santa looked flustered. "A -are you sure?" he asked. "Don't you just want, like, a horse? Or maybe a... play... station?"_

_"No, I really want world peace." the boy repeated. Santa sighed._

_"Okay, I'll try to give you what you asked for." Santa said with a jolly smile. "Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year to you, young man. Because you've been good!"_

_The boy rolled his eyes as he got off Santa's lap. "Sissy..." he muttered._

_"Who?" Santa asked confused. Just then an older boy ran over. This older boy was, your guessed it. Ash._

_"Santa!" Ash cried. "Oh my gosh! It's really you! Let me come sit in your lap!"_

_"No!" Santa cried backing away from him. "Not you again, you're too fat!"_

_"Fat?" Ash repeated incredulously. Santa nodded. "W - what?"_

_"I remember last year!" Santa growled. "You sat on my lap and the chair broke!"_

_"All I did, was come over and ask for a little farting Pikachu doll!" Ash defended._

_"And I didn't give you the doll, so you farted on my lap!" Santa roared._

_"Oh my -" Ash groaned. "I think you're remembering it wrong!"_

_"Oh no, I remember it perfectly, like the time you brought me milk and cookies!"_

_"Well weren't they good?" Ash demanded._

_"No they were spiked with drugs!" Santa shouted. Their little arguement had drawn quite the crowd._

_Ash sputtered. "Well tell me how else I've been naughty then, fine!"_

_"You're just naughty like the time you threw your cat, poor defenseless cat, off the second story roof!" _

_"Well he could fly!" Ash said._

_"No he couldn't!" Santa argued._

_"I don't think that's a fair accusation, Santa." Ash said. "I think you're dead wrong."_

_"No, I'm right," Santa shook his head. "You're fat."_

_"Well you're ugly!"_

_"So?" Santa asked. "I'm ugly, but people love me!"_

_"Well... you eat mac and cheese!" Ash said running out of ideas._

_"So I don't fart on people's laps!" Santa said smirking. Ash gasped._

_"That's... not... accurate at all, Santa." he said looking down._

_"You're just fat and ugly!" Santa said in triumph._

_"Well, you overwork your elven work force!" Ash cried._

_"And you play with __**dolls**__!" Santa retorted. Ash gasped._

_"You know what?" Ash asked quietly. "I slept with Mrs. Claus."_

_"__**WHAT**__?" Santa roared. "Oooh, I'm gonna get you for that! I take 364 days of the year, sitting around, waiting for nice people to come sit on my lap. Then you come along, __**the last day**__, and all you want to do is fart on my lap! The one day, I enjoy life, you little bastard. And you __**ruin**__ it! Out of the goodness of my heart...!" Santa suddenly clutched his chest. "My heart...!" he gasped as he sunk to his knees._

_"Santa?" Ash asked in concern. "Are you okay?"_

_"Oooh..." Santa moaned. "Where's my drugs? Where's my drugs? Bring me your milk and cookies...!"_

_"Santa I don't believe in drugs, I swear!" Ash denied. He looked down to see Santa laying there motionless. "Santa?" he asked. "Uh oh." He looked around to the people staring at them. "Um, does anyone know the Hiemlich Maneuver?" Everyone just stared at Santa as Ash fled the scene._

_End Flashback_

Terra was on the floor, laughing. He couldn't breathe. Sora and the others were looking at Ash skeptically. "You really expect us to believe that?" Sora asked.

"Believe what you want." Ash sighed. "You'll see when we get to Christmas Town." And with that, the six went on to Christmas Town. Terra was being dragged by Goofy, as he still couldn't do anything other than laugh.

* * *

Lock, Shock, and Barrel rode out of town in their walking tub (And this is the authoress saying this is Halloween Town, so get used to it!).

"What should we bring along next time?" Lock wondered.

"How about a bucketful of caterpillars?" Shock suggested.

Barrel shook his head. "Lame! How about something even worse!"

"What could be a whole lot worse?" Lock queried at that, then the tub came to a halt. The three of them went to look at what's in front of their tub. There, in front of them, is a witch. A familiar witch…

"Anyway, who're you supposed to be?" Lock demanded.

"She's probably just an old hag!" Barrel teased.

"Silence!" The witch, Maleficent, commanded.

Shock looked intrigued. "A witch?"

Maleficent spread her arms out, and dark green flames surrounded her for a moment. The mischievous trio huddled together, shaking in fear.

"Hmm…" The witch mused, "Perhaps you three could be of use to me. Come along, all of you. I'll show you the true meaning of 'mischief'."

* * *

"All right, bodyguards! Christmas Town is this way! The doorway is in the woods just past the graveyard!" Is what the quintet remembered at what Jack said when they entered the woods, known to the locals as the 'Hinterlands'.

The walked up to a narrow tree with a door in the shape of a Christmas tree on it. "Here it is!" Jack announced, showing them the door. "The door to Christmas Town!"

Ash ran over to another tree. "Can we go to Thanksgiving Town instead?" he pleaded.

"No, Ash." Sora scolded. Ash sighed and walked over to them.

"If I get us kicked out, don't blame me..." he muttered.

Jack then began to pace in front of the tree. "The spooks of Halloween can get so tiresome year after year," he began, "And I wanted something new." He turned back to the door. "And I found this!"

Sora stared at the door, becoming more excited by the second. "Beyond this door is a world filled wit wonders the like of which you've never seen!" Jack continued, "At first I couldn't believe my eyes! Everything was so fresh and exciting!"

"C'mon!" Sora suddenly blurted out, shaking his fists with glee. "Just open it!" The four gave him a look. Jack, with great flourish, opened the door. Sora immediately ran up to it and jumped in. Donald, Goofy, Ash and Terra ran up to the door after him and stared down into it.

"Huh?" Donald muttered. The four of them exchanged concerned looks, then jumped in. They fell into an icy blue vortex, decorated with snowflakes, while screaming all the way.

* * *

On top of a snowy hill, there is a tree with a pumpkin head. The pumpkin head's mouth opened up and spat out Sora. He looked up, only to be slammed into the ground when Terra landed on top of him. Terra looked up, but Donald fell on him, followed by Goofy. Ash came in last, putting the finishing touches on their dogpile. "Get... off!" Sora grunted as he threw them off. His eyes widened at the sight before them. "Cool!" Donald did the same. Before them was a winter wonderland, with a small cluster of red buildings in the distance. Jack walked out of the portal

Donald looked around. "So where's Santa?"

"In his workshop!" Jack said pointing at the buildings in the distance. He started walking towards it. "Shall we?"

"We shall!" Sora said excitedly as he raced down the hill. The others followed. Ash walked at a sedate pace, looking down.

* * *

The six of them walked into Christmas Town's square and looked around. Everything seems fine… until two Wight Knights and a Toy Soldier Heartless appeared in front of them.

Everyone gasped in shock. "Aw man, not here too!" Ash exclaimed as they brandished their weapons and/or got into a fighting stance.

"En garde, loyal bodyguards!" Jack ordered.

"You don't have to tell us twice!" Terra retorted as he attacked one of the Wight Knights.

After it was over, the quintet regrouped. "Aw man, this is bad!" Ash exclaimed.

"Yeah, Christmas is in big trouble!" Donald agreed.

"We can't let anything bad happen to Christmas!" Goofy added in worry.

"C'mon, we gotta make sure Santa's okay!" Sora informed them, then they ran into the workshop. Ash was silently crying anime tears.

The six of them walked into Santa Claus' house. The quintet, minus Ash, gasped at the sight. Sitting on a green armchair is a stout man with white hair and beard in a red coat, black belt, gloves and boots; looking over a long parchment. "I… I can't believe it!" Terra muttered softly.

"It's THE Santa Clause!" Goofy said excitedly.

Santa Claus heard Goofy and noticed them. "Oh, hello," he greeted them. "Have you come to see if you're on my 'nice' list?"

Sora ran up to him. "Your name?" Santa asked.

"Um, Sora, sir!" The Keyblader replied.

Santa looked at his list. "Let's see… Sora…" He muttered while he looked for the name. Sora was eagerly waiting for his reply. Santa nodded as he found the name. "Well, according to my list, Sora, seven years ago you told everyone that you didn't believe in Santa Claus." He shook his head. "Oh, that is unfortunate."

It was silent for a moment until Sora felt that his world has cracked and he mentally fell into a dark abyss, while screaming all the way. He crouched in a corner, woefully, while an ominous aura covered him, depressed. The quartet stared at that for a bit before sweat-dropping.

Donald turned to Santa. "Say, are me and Goofy on your nice 'list' Santa?" He inquired.

Santa Claus looked over his list again, nodded, and smiled at Donald and Goofy, as a sign that the two are on his 'nice' list.

Donald jumped for joy. "Oh, boy!"

Santa looked behind them, seeing someone hiding behind the wall. "Oh, and who might you be?"

Ash gupled and stepped into sight, removing his mask. "Hey, Santa..." he said nervously. Santa's eyes widened.

"YOU!" he roared. "What are you doing here, come to ruin my Christmas once again!"

"No!" Ash denied.

"I remember six years ago!" Santa growled. "You gave me a heart attack and landed me in the hospital!"

"I said I was sorry!" Ash shouted. "And we paid the hospital bill!"

While this was going on, Sora had recovered and was staring wide-eyed at the interaction, as was everyone else. "Well, I'm sure you know where you are on my list!" Santa scowled.

"Yeah, yeah..." Ash muttered. "Coal again..."

Santa huffed before calming down. He looked to see everyone staring at them, and clear this thoat. "I'm sorry about that." he said sheepishly. "Just a few unresolved issues."

"You can say that again..." Ash mumbled. Santa glared at him, prompting him to shut up.

"Am I on your list too, by any chance?" Jack wondered. "It's me, Jack!"

Santa Claus was visibly surprised. "Jack Skellington?" He exclaimed. Then there was a thumping sound from the door to his workshop. "What sort of trouble did you bring this time?" He demanded as he walked over to the door. He turned back. "Or was it _you_?" he continued glaring at Ash, who shrunk back.

The others glanced at Jack. "This time?" Sora repeated.

Jack shrugged and hastily replied, "It's a long story!" They shook their heads as they followed Santa into his workshop.

Santa started looking around at the workshop when the others got to him. The sextet also looked around at the big assembly lines.

Ash then suddenly heard some voices above them. He turned his head only slightly so he didn't tip anyone off, he listened to the voices overhead.

"Why do we have to hide?" He heard someone whined, that he recognized as Lock.

"Silence!" He heard a familiar voice quickly ordered. He gasped slightly as he recognized the voice is Maleficent's. "Well, this is a pleasant surprise. That fool Jack brought Sora and the others with him. Now we can deal with all of them at once!"

"What do you want us to do?" Another voice wondered quietly, that he recognizes as Shock's.

Santa looked up from the first landing of the ramp. "Who's there?" He demanded, glaring at the four of them.

The three brats jumped. "Busted!" They cried out. Maleficent disappeared in dark green flames, and Barrel threw what looked like a bear trap to bust out the window overhead, then jumped out, followed by Lock and Shock.

Jack gasped when he noticed the little kids. "It's Lock, Shock, and Barrel!" He pointed out.

"Not those three…" Santa's voice trailed off into a deep sigh.

"I assure you, they're not with us," Jack insisted.

Santa turned to Jack and put his hands on his hips. "Well, whatever the case, they've been quite naughty," he stated, "Catch them and bring them back here. They're going to get a lecture." He started to walk back to his room.

Jack looked concerned. "Uh… Mr. Claws? I wanted to talk to you about Christmas first-"

Santa cut him off, slightly irritated. "It'll have to wait. I need to see how things are progressing in my workshop." He walked into his room.

The others began to think. "What are those three doing here?" Terra wondered, crossing his arms.

"And more importantly," Donald added, "how did they find out about Christmas Town?"

Ash decided to say something. "Guys, before those three ran off, I heard them talking to someone," he informed, "And I think that person is Maleficent!"

Sora started. "Maleficent?"

Yeah," Ash confirmed, "But who knows what she'll do here."

Sora nodded then turned back to Jack. "C'mon Jack-" He started, "-let's catch those little pranksters." Then he took off with the other four following.

After a moment, Jack muttered, "Oh, all right, then," and followed the quintet out.

Outside Santa's house, they found footprints. A straight trail of footprints that led up to Yuletide Hill. Terra knelt to the ground. "These prints looked faded, but I think that if we follow them, we'll find those three," he informed.

"Then let's go!" Ash said as they took off towards the hill.

* * *

Meanwhile at a curled hill, Maleficent stood at the base of it with Lock, Shock, and Barrel in their tub a distance behind her. "I was so looking forward to destroying that ridiculous Christmas Town," Maleficent muttered. "But now that Sora and those imbeciles are here, I think a change of plan is called for. Revenge before pleasure, after all."

"What kind of revenge?" Shock asked in her high-pitched voice.

Maleficent grimaced, but quickly changed it to a grin. "The magnificent, malevolent kind, of course," she replied.

Lock looked excited. "That sounds really bad!" He exclaimed.

"Like Oogie's kinda bad!" Shock added.

"And that's super-duper bad!" Barrel agreed. They all nodded in agreement.

Maleficent turned to them, a curious grin on her face. "Oogie Boogie?" She queried, "That bag of incensed insects? Hmph. How intriguing. And where might I find him?"

Shock sounded angry as she replied, "Jack and his dumb, stupid friends destroyed him!"

Maleficent nodded. "Ah yes, now I remember," she said, then smiled evilly. "More intriguing still! I believe I'll bring your master back for you!" The three troublemakers began to cackle evilly as green flames surrounded Maleficent.

* * *

Maleficent stared at a humanoid bag with the mischievous trio sitting on the curl of the hill. The bag laughed as he realized he was alive again. "I feel like a million bugs!" He remarked, still laughing. He turned to the witch. "I really owe you one for this, Maleficent."

She nodded. "Indeed you do, Oogie," she said, "Do you remember Sora, Donald, and Goofy?"

Oogie looked outraged. "Do I remember them?" He repeated, "Ha! You're too much! I'll never forget what they did to me…" He paused, and turned to his three minions. "What was it they did to me?"

"Squashed you like a bug!" Shock exclaimed.

"That sounds bad!" Oogie remarked.

"And Jack helped!" Lock added.

"Even worse!" Oogie muttered, his rage returning.

"They creamed ya!" Barrel yelled.

"That's right, that's right!" Oogie shouted. "That's one thing I won't be forgetting anytime soon! It's that last thing I remember. And it the only thing I remember until I teach those clowns not to mess with Mr. Oogie Boogie!"

Maleficent was amused by the extravagance of his statements. "Yes… that's right. That's the spirit," she said, "And I have the perfect plan in mind." She turned her back on him. "Have you ever heard of Christmas Town?

When she got no answer, she turned and saw Oogie with his head low. He looked like he had no energy left. "Mr. Oogie!" Lock cried out.

"Wake up! Wake up!" Shock quickly shouted.

"We want to see how bad you are!" Barrel insisted.

Maleficent sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "It seems he needs more time to recover," she guessed.

"You three," she ordered, "stay here and keep Sora and the others occupied." Oogie disappeared in a puff of smoke, and herself in the green flames. Another dark cloud burst in the area, which the three kids went to look. "My Heartless will help you," the witch's voice echoed. "But do not fail me!"

The sextet arrived in time to see the Prison Keeper Heartless appear. "What's that?" Ash shouted when they saw the Heartless.

"Must be a Heartless!" Sora figured as he and the others got into a fighting stance then Ash. Seeing that, the three kids jumped into the Prison Keeper's cage.

"Stop them!" Shock yelled.

"Tie ém down!" Lock added.

"Get ém!" Barrel ordered.

The Prison Keeper held its cage over its large mouth. After a few seconds, the three of them tumbled out and fell into the Heartless's mouth. It was surrounded in different auras and used different attacks at them, like fireballs, slashers, and going far as chomping at them. The first thing Sora did was enter Valor Form, consuming Goofy. He attacked the Heartless in a lightning fast barrage. The Heartless knocked him away, forcing him to revert back to normal as Goofy reappeared. Terra did his thing, leaping at it and slamming down his Keyblade, hard. The Heartless landed on the ground in a huge crater. Donald and Jack were firing away with their magic while Goofy was spinning around in a tornado. The Heartless charged at Terra, but he smacked it away with his Keyblade, sending it at Ash. Ash smacked it into Sora, who fired it at Terra, this contined for a while until the Heartless sprang up into the air. Sora growled and used his drive form again. Only this time, he didn't enter Valor form or Wisdom form. Before them stood a shadowy creature with Sora's outline. Both Goofy and Donald were gone. Terra, Jack and Ash stepped back, taken aback by Sora's form. Sora grinned sadistically. He leapt at the Heartless, literally _tearing it to shreds_. And with his bare hands too!

Sora reverted back to normal in a daze. Donald and Goofy reappeared as though nothing happened. The three turned to their three other friends, who had frightened looks on their faces. "What?" Sora asked.

"Sora..." Terra began. "You don't remember what just happened?"

"Well... I just remember charging at the Heartless." Sora admitted.

"Dude..." Ash whispered. "You turned into this black shadow with glowing yellow eyes. You literally _tore it to shreds_."

"With your bare hands..." Jack added in a mutter.

"W- what?" Sora stuttered. Donald and Goofy looked worried.

"It was awesome, but scary as hell." Ash said.

"I guess that's what happens when you use Drives too much..." Terra muttered. Sora looked unnerved.

"Don't worry, Sora." Ash reassured him. "Just be careful with your Drives." Sora smiled at him faintly.

"Thanks, Ash..." he whispered.

"Hehehe." Lock giggled. "That was fun!" he said not understanding the severity of what just happened.

"Let's go see if Mr. Oogie is ready!" Shock said as they ran off.

"Did they say, Oogie?" Jack exclaimed.

Ash folded his arms. "Wasn't he the one who tried to take over Halloween Town last time?" He inquired.

Jack turned to the quintet. "The very same," he replied, "I hope you're ready for trouble…"

"Don't we have enough trouble?" Goofy asked.

"We'd better follow them." Ash said as he took off after the kids. The others followed.

* * *

The six of them ran out into the graveyard, where they met Sally. "What's up Sally?" Ash inquired as she stopped in front of them and panted.

"Jack!" She exclaimed, with a worried look on her face. "Oogie has kidnapped Santa Claus!"

The sextet jumped/gasped in shock. "C'mon! We gotta go save him!" Sora shouted, then they took off to the Hinterlands with Sally following.

* * *

Meanwhile at Santa's workshop in Christmas Town, Oogie Boogie laughed. Santa Claus was bound and gagged on a conveyor belt, squirming to free himself, while Maleficent was standing next to him.

Oogie jumped onto the belt. "I've done a little redecorating!" He proclaimed. The changes he had made had some skulls here and there, so he didn't change much. "Wait… Something's not quite right," he decided.

Oogie looked excited. "I know what it is! We just need a little more of that Oogie flair!" He started running around.

Maleficent looked down on Santa Claus. "I do hope our jolly old friend is looking forward to becoming a Heartless," she smiled evilly. Santa squirmed a bit more violently than before, not wanting to be a Heartless. Dark green flames surrounded the witch as she prepared to use her magic… but then Oogie bumped into her as he passed. The flames dissipated.

Irritated, Maleficent turned toward him. "You clumsy oaf!" She seethed as she glared at him.

Oogie stopped and looked back. "Are you still here?" He demanded. "Why don't you Oogie on back where you came from. You're crampin' my style!"

"Have you already forgotten who brought you back," Maleficent demanded with an anime-vein mark on her head, "you insolent bag of bugs?"

Oogie thought for a minute. "Sorry!" Oogie taunted. "Can't remember a thing!"

Enraged, green flames surrounded Maleficent once more. "Very well, you ingrate," she said with her teeth gritted, "You'll rue the day you spurned my help!" She disappeared into thin air, leaving Oogie and Santa, who sighed in relief.

Oogie cackled as he walked over to the big machine in the back, and stepped into one of the holes that the conveyor belts fed into. After a minute, an explosion happened, causing smoke to rise from Santa's workshop.

At Yuletide Hill, Sora and the others arrived in time to see the smoke. "That's Santa's house!" Donald shouted as Sally walked out of the portal and spotted the change. They hurried over to the town square.

The six of them ran into the workshop and got into a fighting stance. They saw the changes made to the place. "Everything seems quiet…" Sora muttered. Suddenly a sinister laugh echoed throughout the room.

Oogie landed on top of the structure in front of the conveyor belt. "Jack Skellington!" He shouted.

Jack got into a fighting stance. "Oogie!" He exclaimed.

Oogie glanced at the whole party. "You and I have a score to settle, Jack!" He declared. "Same goes for your little sidekicks!"

"Who are you calling sidekicks?" Terra demanded.

"And what are you planning to do with Sandy Claws?" Jack demanded. Ash looked to the side and saw Sally hopping on one foot past the structure, holding her other leg in her hand.

_'How the heck did that happen_?' Ash thought with a sweat-drop.

"Who?" Oogie mumbled, confused by that name. "Sandy Claws? I don't know what you're talking about!" He jumped down to the belt where Santa Claus was still bound. "And why is this roly-poly red guy here? Time to go, grandpa!"

Sally gasped. She glanced at her leg and an idea popped into her head. Oogie put Santa back on his feet and led him to the hole in the structure that the conveyor belt came from. He laughed as he prepared to push Santa in. Out of nowhere, Sally's torn-off leg landed on the belt in front of them. "Eh?" Oogie muttered as he looked at it.

While Oogie was distracted, Santa broke free of this grip and started running toward Sally. "Mr. Santa Claus!" She shouted. Oogie growled and tried to chase after them, but Jack, Donald, Goofy, Terra, Ash and Sora got in his way.

"Why, you…" Oogie grumbled as the rage built up. Looking for a way to escape, he jumped back onto the conveyor belt and ran into the machine in the back. The sextet followed him, and watched as Oogie Boogie, on a platform held by a crane lowered down, to watch them. With a shout, Oogie mashed a green button on the panel in front of him. A barrier formed itself around the three belts, the conveyor belts started moving backwards, and spikes rose up behind them. "That's right, away you go!" Oogie yelled.

The quintet began to run on the conveyor belt, as they don't want to be stabbed by the spikes. "Stop!" Donald shouted as he ran into the machine, only to come out at the conveyor belt to their left. "Huh?" He ran back through, panting a little, and came back to the center conveyor belt. "Not again!"

Ash looked around to see if there's anyway to beat Oogie when suddenly small steel boxes slowly started pouring out of the machine. Getting an idea, he ran to one. "Fore!" He yelled as he whacked it like a golf ball, and it miraculously landed on Oogie's platform, cracking it a little. The others took the hint and also started launching the boxes at Oogie with whatever they could use.

While Oogie was busy taunting them, one more steel box landed on the platform, and because of the weight of the boxes and the cracked glass floor, it broke. He fell to the belt, screaming. The others took this change and attacked him, one in particular hit his side, causing insects to start falling out. Oogie didn't seem to notice it at first, but then wailed and quickly closed the seam with his hands. He sighed in relief, then laughed... until the seam on the other side suddenly opened up and started pouring out bugs. Oogie spotted this, accidentally taking his hands out of the seam he was trying to close, and it poured out. He moaned and wailed as he started to sink into nothing, as all of the bugs poured over the workshop.

One of the bugs scurried up to them, but Donald squashed it. Ash sighed deeply. "Glad that was over," Donald scarped the bug away with his foot. Ash noticed three purple orbs on the ground. He picked them up and handed on to Sora and the other to Terra. They absorbed the orbs. Suddenly the bugs started flying at them. Donald quacked and used Fira to incinerate them.

"Magnet." Terra explained. "Draws in enemies, damaging them a little."

"Cool, I guess..." Ash muttered as they walked out of the workshop.

* * *

"Alright, Christmas is safe again!" Sora announced as they stepped out of Santa's house.

"Yep, it sure is," Ash agreed.

Jack started walking out of the house. "Perfect!" He exclaimed, "I'd better get down to business!"

"What?" Donald shouted. "Leave that to Santa!"

Goofy nodded. "Yep, you oughta stick to Halloween and spooky stuff!" He agreed.

"Jack?" Sally called for him as she left the house. She was carrying a red bundle of clothing. "Here, it's done."

"Wonderful!" Jack exclaimed. "Why, I love it! Thank you, Sally!" He snatched the clothes and immediately started to try them on.

"Jack…" Sally mumbled. "Do you really have to do this?"

"But I make a splendid Sandy Claws!" Jack protested as he fumbled with the costume.

Santa rushed out of his house to meet them all. "Listen here, Jack Skellington," he began, "You saved me, and Christmas as well. And for that, I'm very grateful. But please promise you won't cause any more trouble! And about that suit!"

Jack twirled around and presented the incredibly then Santa Claus outfit. It fit him perfectly, but the combination with his skeletal body made it more than a little unnerving. A little less frightening, perhaps, but not quite Christmas-y.

"I don't think so," Ash muttered. Santa turned to him.

"Now, Ashton." he began. "I thank you for helping me. Perhaps I'll reconsider your position on my list."

"Really?" Ash asked excited as he made to hug Santa.

"I said I'd consider it!" Santa snapped as he smacked him away. Everyone laughed as Ash started crying anime tears. Santa turned back to Jack. "Don't even think about taking over for me again!" Santa continued.

Jack tried to explain. "I just thought you could use a little help this year, Mr. Claw. You must be exhausted from all the preparations. And… I wouldn't mind a second chance to get this Christmas thing right."

Santa sighed and nodded. "Yes, being Santa Claus can be tiring," he said, "But let me tell you something, Jack. Seeing the happy faces of little children when they discover the presents I've brought them makes it all worthwhile, year after year after year."

The quintet nodded in agreement. "And you, Jack…" Santa continued, "you love to see them gasp and see them shiver with fright. What if someone tried to take all of that away from you?" Jack scratched his bony head. Apparently, he appears to not have thought of that.

"We both have very important jobs to do, Jack," Santa insisted. "Mine is to take care of Christmas, and yours is to take care of Halloween. So we each have to do the very best we can. After all, you're the face of Halloween—Mr. Jack Skellington! The Pumpkin King! The Knight of Nightmares!" Jack seemed to lighten up at this realization.

"That's a lot of titles…" Terra remarked.

"And even though you're fascinated with Christmas, Jack…" Santa pointed out, obviously winding down, "Halloween is your true specialty. Don't you see? Children rely on both of us to do our jobs. Halloween needs your attention… and I know Christmas needs mine—urgently." He turned back to his workshop.

"You're right!" Jack Skellington agreed. "I am the master of terror! And if Halloween has become too routine, all I have to do is think of something new that'll really make them scream!"

"Yeah, that's the spirit!" Ash exclaimed. "Can't wait for Halloween!"

"Jack! Oh, Jack!" They heard the mayor of Halloween Town's voice and turned to the source. They saw him running toward them. He was holding a bunch of scrolls in his hand. "I've been looking for you everywhere! We must go over the plans for next Halloween! I can't do a thing without your approval!"

"So true," Jack remarked as he led the way back to Halloween Town at last.

"Good luck, Jack Skellington," Santa called out after him.

Sora put his hands behind his head. "Well, there he goes," he pointed out.

Santa nodded in agreement. "Yes, and I've got lots of name to check and preparations to finish!"

Suddenly, Jack's costume flashed brightly. This startled the mayor, who dropped the plans he had been holding, and switched his face to the sad one. "Jack, this is no time for joking!" He scolded.

Jack was too busy looking over the costume. "What's this?" He wondered, "Perhaps a bit too festive for our Halloween needs."

A bright flash occurred as the Keybladers pulled out their Keyblades, opening the gate to the next world. Sora turned back to Santa. "We better get going," he informed him.

"Before you do, Sora…" Santa interrupted him, "I believe there's a friend of yours, who—if I recall correctly—was the one who told you there's no such thing as Santa Claus?"

Sora nodded as he remembered. "Oh yeah… He did say that," he replied.

Santa stepped forward. "Be sure to give him my very best wishes," he asked.

"I will, but…" Sora seemed hesitant. "Do you know where I can find Riku?" He asked.

"No…" Santa replied with a sigh, "but don't give up! Remember, if you believe in Riku, you will find him. Just as you found me."

Sora's expression brightened up at Santa's advice. "Right!" He nodded as the Gummi Ship beamed them up.

* * *

**A/N: I may or may not have DMG continue being a love interest. Or I may just have it be onesided. I don't know yet. Besides, the way the story is going, I'm not sure it would be a good idea either. I think the only reason I added her is because I was going through a Yu-Gi-Oh phase. I believe many of you found it awkward because you had no idea who it was. If you did. Please tell me your thoughts on the matter.**


	19. Back to Twilight Town

**Chapter 19 of Pokemon: Keyblade Masters**

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* * *

**

"Alright, Santa's gonna put me back on the nice list after all these years!" Ash cheered. Terra rolled his eyes.

"He said he'd consider it." Terra corrected. Ash ignored him.

"Hey!" A voiced called. Everyone jumped and looked at the monitor. Chip and Dale could be seen. "Looky there, Twilight Town!"

"Yup, its back!" Dale exclaimed. Everyone looked and saw Twilight Town in the distance.

"Something's up." Sora muttered. "It disappears, now it suddenly reappears?"

"Let's go see what's happening." Goofy suggested.

"Okay then, let's go!"

* * *

The quintet walked into the Tram Common. "I wonder how everyone's doing?" Ash wondered.

Suddenly, they saw Vivi run by. "H-Help!" He cried out, "The sandlot! It's Seifer! Sombody please help us!"

Sora and the others watched Vivi for a moment. "Sounds like we've got trouble!" He informed them. With that said they took off towards the Sandlot. When they arrived they saw a group of three on the ground, thoroughly beaten and surrounded by a few Dusks. Seifer struggled to get up. Sora stepped in with his Keyblade. Ash, Terra, Donald and Goofy all stood around them protectively.

"We'll take it from here." Sora told them. With that they charged at the Nobodies. During the battle, a new type of Nobody appeared. They were called Berserkers and they wielded large large T-shaped claymores and were a real pain. Terra seemed to love taking them on, however. Eventually the Nobodies were defeated.

"Impressive," a man's voice commented. The quintet turned to find an Organization member facing them, clapping slightly with a hood over his face. "By the way," the Nobody added, "have you seen a man named Axel? I expect he's here somewhere."

Ash recognized the voice from some of Xhäs' memories. "What do you want Axel for, Saïx?

"So you remember me, Xhäs?" Saïx chuckled. "You see, Axel's no longer acting in our best interest."

"Is he with the Organization, too?" Goofy asked.

"Yes." Saïx and Ash responded as they glared at each other coldly.

"You havin' a fight?" Donald questioned.

"Not a very organized Organization." Sora taunted.

Saïx pointed at Sora. "Don't let your guard down," he advised. "Axel will stop at nothing to turn you into a Heartless."

"Gee, thanks for looking out for us, mister." Sora said sarcastically. "But, I'm sure we can handle ourselves just fine."

"Glad to hear it." Saïx said coldly. "Axel aside, it would break our hearts to hear something happened to you."

"Hearts?" Terra repeated. "You don't have any hearts!"

"True, we don't have hearts," he said, lifting his hood. He had blue shoulder length hair with an X shaped scar on his face. "But we remember what it was like. That's what makes us special." He turned to Ash. "I haven't forgiven you, Xhäs."

Ash smirked. "Aw, upset I scarred your pretty little face, Isa?" Saïx bristled at the use of his real name.

"The Supreme is very angry at you." Saïx warned. "You best ask for forgiveness."

"Not interested." Ash grunted. Saïx smirked.

"You just keep on fighting those Heartless." he said

Sora whispered to Donald, "Let's jump in after him!"

Donald was less than enthusiastic. "How come?" He asked boredly.

Sora shook his head slightly. "I'm not sure," he replied, "but maybe he'll lead us to the Organization's world."

The Nobody realized their intent. "Don't be reckless," he informed them. "Do you want to end up like Riku?"

Sora was caught off guard by this. "What?" He exclaimed, eyes widen in shock. Using the bought time, the Nobody stepped back into the portal. "Hey wait!" Sora yelled as the portal dissipated, leaving the quintet by themselves. Sora stood there in deep thought. "What did he mean, end up like Riku?"

"Ash, what was he talking about?" Terra asked. "Why was he calling you Xhäs?"

Donald answered for him. "Xhäs is Ash's Nobody."

"What?" Terra asked confused. "But how?"

"Right after I lost my heart, it was returned to me. I was revived." Ash said. "He resides in my heart now. As we speak, we are still becoming one."

"Hey, how 'bout you get out of my town now?" Seifer demanded from the other end of the sandlot, standing between the rest of his Committee. "You've caused enough trouble."

Sora didn't hear him. "Riku…" He muttered. Ash looked at Seifer distainfully.

Donald turned to speak in his stead. "Have it your way!" He shouted to them. "C'mon, guys."

They were about to walk away until Seifer called to them. "Hold it!" He shouted.

Donald was quickly irritated. "Make up your mind!" He exclaimed.

From nowhere, Seifer whipped out a blue curvy trophy with four spherical gems on it- blue, yellow, red, and green. "This goes to the strongest guy in Twilight Town," he informed them.

Sora pointed at himself in a gesture to say 'me?' "Thanks, but I don't need it," he said to them.

Seifer just ran up to Goofy and placed it in his arms, making him stumble. Seifer then walked out of the sandlot with Rai and Fuu following him.

"Where did he get that thing from?" Ash asked. Everyone shrugged.

"Sora! Ash!" they heard a familiar voice call. They turned to see Pence running up to them.

"Pence?" Ash questioned. He nodded.

"Do you guys know a girl named Kairi?" Pence asked. Everyone did a take.

"K - Kairi?" Sora stuttered. "I sure do!"

"Then you better come to the Station!" Pence exclaimed as he ran off. The quintet quickly followed him.

* * *

The quintet and Pence quickly entered the Station. "He-ey!" a voiced called. They turned to see Hayner and Olette running up to them.

"Hey, so how do you guys know Kairi?" Sora asked. They looked at each other before looking down.

_Flashback_

_Hayner, Pence, Pluto, Kairi and Olette were in the usual spot, talking._

_**"Kairi was really here?" Sora exclaimed. **_

_**"Yeah, and she said she was looking for you." Hayner explained.**_

_**"Tell me where she is!" Sora said.**_

_**"Well..."**_

_"What a romantic story!" Olette squealed as Kairi finished her tale._

_"If you stick around, Sora and his friends Ash, Donald and Goofy are bound to show up!" Pence exclaimed._

_"Yeah, they said they'd come back." Hayner added. Kairi smiled happily._

_"Okay."_

_"What took you so long, Kairi?" a voice asked. Everyone looked around wildly as Kairi gasped. Suddenly a portal appeared before them. A red-haired man came out of it. "Somehow I knew you'd be here. I tell you Kairi, you got a lot of guts, jumping right into the darkness like that. What would Sora and Ash say?"_

_"Who is Ash?" Kairi demanded. Axel looked surprised._

_"You mean you don't know?" he asked before chuckling._

_"Tell me!" she said. Axel shook his head._

_"Nuh uh. You're coming with me." Axel smirked. Hayner and Pence attacked him, but he dodged them easily. He then grabbed Kairi's wrist and dragged her to the portal._

_"Let go of me!" Kairi demanded as she struggled against him. "Let go!" she cried as she was dragged into the portal with him. Pluto quickly followed and the portal disappeared, leaving Hayner, Pence and Olette to stare at the space it once existed in helplessly._

_End Flashback_

Sora looked down and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a star-shaped pendant made of seashells. Ash and Terra stared at it. "Kairi..." Sora whispered.

"Did Kairi make that for you?" Ash questioned. Sora nodded, his attention was drawn to them when Ash and Terra pulled out similar pendants. Red and yellow respectively. Sora smiled lightly.

"Ya think it might've been Axel?" Goofy questioned. Donald just nodded.

"Sorry..." Hayner muttered.

"Hey!" Sora said. "It's not your fault. C'mon, cheer up!" he then frowned. "Like I can say that..."

Goofy leaned over to him in concern. "I gotta help Kairi!" Sora suddenly shouted, making Goofy yelp and drop the trophy he was holding. The four gems fell out of their sockets. Hayner, Pence and Olette quickly scooped one up. Sora picked up the blue one.

"That was close!" Pence exclaimed. Sora held up his crystal to the sun, making it shine brilliantly. Hayner, Pence and Olette did the same. Ash remembered something and reached into Goofy's pocket. He took out the small bag from their first visit to Twilight Town and took out a crystal similar to Sora's. He held it up to the light.

Donald, Goofy and Terra watched them, then did a take, Sora took on the form of a blond boy with a white jacket and gray pants. Ash took on the form of a boy with crimson eyes and a scar. He wore a black jacket with black pants.

"Sora? Ash?" Donald asked nervously. They reverted to normal as they turned to face them.

"Huh?" Ash asked.

"What?" Sora looked confused. The three shook off what they saw, believing it to be a trick of the light or something. Terra could have sworn he just saw Ven, though... His thoughts were broken when the crystal Sora was holding started to glow. The three Keybladers opened the new gate as Hayner, Pence and Olette watched in awe.

"Wh- what just happened?" Pence asked.

"A new road is opened." Sora answered. "And Kairi and Riku are waiting somewhere along it."

"You'd better hurry, then." Olette insisted.

"You comin' back?" Hayner asked.

"Promise." Ash smiled. They nodded and walked off.

"Uh, guys?" Goofy asked. "What should we do with this?" he indicated the trophy in his hands. Ash's eyes flashed, which his companions noticed.

"I know." Ash said. "Follow me." he then walked off into the streets of Twilight Town. They followed him for a few blocks before he stopped in front of a building. He walked up to the front door and tapped the lock with Oathkeeper.

"Uh, Ash?" Sora asked unsure. "Should we be breaking into people's houses like this?"

Ash looked back at his worried friends. "Don't worry." he assured with a grin. "Cause this is _my_ house. Or rather, Xhäs' house."

They looked surprised. "Cool." Sora said as Ash led them in. They walked in to see the house had a rather dark scheme to it.

"Dusty." Terra noted. "But it will serve our purposes." Goofy nodded and placed the trophy on the shelf. Ash was looking around. He spotted a small picture and walked over to it. He glanced to see his friends were exploring the place. He took the picture and found it was a photo of Xhäs and a blonde girl. He suddenly felt woozy and collapsed to his knees.

"Ash?" he heard Sora call before everything went black.

* * *

"Ash." a familiar voice said. Ash turned to see Aqua before her. "You need to be tested."

"Tested?" Ash asked confused. She looked completely serious. "What kind of test?"

"The Master Qualification Exam." she explained. "See, when an apprentice comes of age, he or she is tested to see if they are prepared to become a master."

"And you want to see if I'm qualified?" Ash asked incredulously. "So you knocked me out to see me?"

She looked flustered. "This is important."

He sighed. "Whatever you say."

She nodded. "Normally you would duel a fellow apprentice, but seeing as how you have no opponent..."

"Oh he has one..." a familiar voice echoed. Aqua looked around wildly. A cloaked figure appeared behind them. "Me..."

"Who are you?" Aqua demanded. Ash grabbed her shoulder.

"It's okay..." he soothed. "So you're my opponent, Xhäs?" the boy nodded as he put his hood down. Aqua gasped. "Xhäs is my Nobody, Aqua. He is also my opponent."

She looked ready to argue, but his serious face put her off. "Fine."

"This is it, Ash." Xhäs called as he summoned his Keyblades. "If you win this, we finally become one."

"I'm looking forward to it." Ash said. It begun. Xhäs charged, prompting Ash to do the same. Both unleashed a flurry of lightning fast strikes, each being parried another strike. Xhäs flipped over him, Ash rolled to the side and threw his Oblivion at him and sent a Blizzard spell straight after it. Xhäs dodged the weapon and sent up a wall of Fire to counter the Blizzard. Oblivion, however, acted like a boomerang, and struck Xhäs in the back of the head before flying back to Ash. He sent a Thunder spell at Ash. The boy barely felt it, and smirked to show it.

"_You _should know how resistant I am to electricity." he said. Xhäs smirked and charged once again. Ash charged and feinted to the left. Xhäs parried the blow and pivoted, slashing at his stomach. Ash flipped away, knocking Xhäs' Keyblade into the air and slashed at him while his guard was down. Xhäs grunted as he was knocked back.

"You've gotten good." Xhäs complimented as he got into stance yourself. "But you've still got a lot to learn." He lifted his Oathkeeper and sent a ball of fire at Ash. Ash retaliated by sending Blizzard at it, causing a small explosion. Xhäs suddenly charged through the smoke, catching Ash off guard. He began raining blows on Ash's weapons as he was forced to one of his knees. Eventually Xhäs knocked his Keyblades out of Ash's hands. His Oblivion found its way to Ash's neck.

"Looks like I win..." he said softly. Ash glared as he summoned his Keyblade. Xhäs looked down. "No!" Too late, as Ash had already slammed his shoulder into him, causing him to fall to the floor. The next moment Ash had his Keyblades at his throat in his favorite scissor position. "Or not..." he smiled lazily. Ash got off of him and dismissed his weapons. He held a hand out to him. Xhäs stared at it for a long while before smiling at him. "I'm glad to have met you." he said as he took it in a firm hold. Ash closed his eyes as Xhäs was absorbed into him. Memories flashed through his head. But one still eluded him: the name of No. I. Everything about him was still a mystery. He only had a few memories of meeting with him. Was this the Supreme's doing?

"Ash?" Aqua's voice broke his train of thoughts. She smiled at him. "Congradulations, Master Ash."

"Thanks..." he muttered.

"So that was your Nobody?" she asked. Ash nodded and explained everything. "So you were turned to stone?" Again Ash nodded. He suddenly remembered something. He reached into his pocket.

"Aqua?" he asked.

"Hmm?" He held his hand out. In it was the most beautiful ring she had ever seen.

"It's from the Cave of Wonders." he explained. "The Cave said to do whatever I wanted with it. So I'm giving it to you." he smiled. She took it and blushed scarlet.

"A- Ash?" she stuttered. "I - it's a diamond ring."

"So?" he asked confused.

"W- well, you know..." she mumbled. "Diamonds represent commitment... and..." Ash blushed as well. She smiled at him. "T -thank you."

Ash nodded, still red. "Aqua..." he gulped as she looked at him. "This may seem kinda sudden but... will... you be my girlfriend?" Her eyes widened as she stared at him. She turned even more red, she looked down and began stuttering. Horror began to fill him. He quickly looked away. "I'm sorry..." he whispered. "I'm -" He was cut off as her arms snaked around his neck. She laid her head on his shoulder.

"Yes..." she breathed.

"Yes?" he repeated. He felt her nod. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Positive?" he asked to make sure. She answered him by kissing him. Ash's heart soared as he kissed her back. They ended their kiss after a few minutes and smiled at each other. Ash took the ring from her and slipped it onto her finger.

"I think it's time for you to go." Aqua said.

"What if I don't want to?" Ash replied childishly. Aqua giggled and kissed him one last time.

"I'll see you later, Ash." Aqua whispered. Ash nodded as he began regaining consciousness.

* * *

He felt himself being shaken. Ash groaned as he sat up. He opened his eyes to see his friends looking at him in concern. Sora helped him up. "Are you okay?"

"What happened?" Terra questioned.

"Xhäs..." Ash said. "He and I finally became one."

"You and your Nobody?" Terra asked. Ash nodded.

"It's time to get out of here." he said. The others nodded as the Gummi Ship beamed them up.

* * *

**A/N: This Chapter may seem odd, but I know what I'm doing... Kinda.**


	20. Memories

**A/N: This Chapter contains mild language. You've been warned. Anyway, you know how in the beginning of the game, how Roxas is viewing Sora's memories and stuff? This is kinda the same. I did this Chapter mainly for fun.**

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* * *

**

A young boy around the age of ten opened his eyes with a groan. He looked around to see he was laying before a huge mansion. Suddenly a dark portal opened up before him. The boy gasped as a cloaked man exited the portal and walked over to him. The boy looked at him in curiousity.

"Do you remember your name?" the man asked. The boy shook his head and the cloaked man nodded. He raised his hand and letters appeared in the air before him. A-S-H. The man nodded once more and flicked his wrist. The letters began swirling around the boy as an 'X' appeared before them. Suddenly the letters stop swirling and spelled a single word.

"Xhäs..." the boy whispered.

"Your new name." The man answered. Xhäs looked at him with wide eyes.

"Who are you?"

"My name is..."

* * *

Xhäs walked through the streets aimlessly. The man had asked him to join some group called Organization XII. He said that he would be No. XIII. Why? Xhäs had no idea. It wasn't as though he would be of any use. Xhäs saw a group of kids about his age playing together and smiled wistfully.

"Hey, there." a voice said from behind him. Xhäs turned and saw a pretty blonde girl smiling at him. "You look lonely." He looked away from her. "We'll just have to fix that, won't we?" she grabbed his hand and dragged him off with her.

* * *

They were sitting on Sunset Hill, watching the sunset. Xhäs turned to her. "Who are you?"

She turned to him. "I'm Larxene." He nodded.

"I'm Xhäs." he said. "Are you like me, too?"

"Am I a Nobody?" he nodded. That's what the man said. "Yes."

"I see..." he muttered. He felt something poke him. Xhäs turned to see she was offering him an ice cream. He wasn't sure where she got it from but accepted nonetheless. Xhäs took a lick and made a confused face. "Salty?... no... Sweet?"

She laughed at him. "Sea Salt Ice cream." she explained. "It's kind of a tradition. When we get turned into Nobodies, we eat it."

Xhäs laughed with her. "How old are you, Xhäs?"

"Ten." he answered. She nodded.

"I'm thirteen." They spent the rest of the time in silence, sitting on the fence, watching the sunset.

* * *

Xhäs sat in his room in the Castle that Never Was. He had joined the Organization not too long ago. He sighed as he held out his hand. Within it the Kingdom Key appeared. "What's the purpose of the Organization?" he questioned himself. "Not even Larxene knows."

"Talking to yourself, Xhäs?" a voice called.

"Hey, Axel." Xhäs said as the redhead appeared.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I just don't understand our purpose, what's the Supreme's plan?" Xhäs asked. Axel shrugged.

"Got me, but we have a mission." he answered.

"Oh, joy." Xhäs muttered as he lifted himself. He'd only been here for a little while and he was already being sent on big missions. Sure he had natural talent, but still, he was new at this.

"Hey, relax." Axel smirked. "Larxene's coming too." That made things slightly better.

* * *

Xhäs lifted the Keyblade to his opponent's throat as he was sent onto his rear. "Alright, kiddo. Put it away." Xigbar complained. Xhäs chuckled and dismissed his weapon. Xigbar picked himself up and smirked.

"Well, little man, you finally did it." he said.

Xhäs shook his head. "Yeah after months upon months destroying me."

"But you're the only one to ever beat me, other than the Supreme, or course." Xigbar grinned. "Just ask your girlfriend how badly I moped the floor with her the last time."

Xhäs rolled his eyes. "She's not my girlfriend." A cough was heard behind him. Xigbar laughed as he teleported away. Xhäs turned to see Larxene waiting behind him.

"Nice fight," she commented. Xhäs smirked.

"You wanna give it a shot?" he asked.

She smirked back, summoning her knives. "Payback for that comment."

* * *

Xhäs ran through the streets of the World that Never Was. He had to get out of here. Suddenly a portal opened before him. He summoned his Keyblades in preparation. A figure stepped out of the portal. Saïx stepped out.

"This is as far as you go." he said coldly as he summoned his claymore, Lunatic. Xhäs growled and charged at his former comrade. Saïx jumped out of the way and slashed at him with his claymore. He jumped and landed on the large weapon, running down the length of it and slashed Saïx right in the face. He cried out in pain as he clutched his face.

"You honestly thought you could hold me back?" Xhäs asked. "That was pathetic!"

"I might not be able to," the blue haired Nobody answered.

"But I can..."

Xhäs' blood ran cold. He spun around to face their leader. His hood was up but Xhäs knew he was glaring at him. Xhäs dodged as the Supreme slashed at him with lightning speed. He looked around him. The other Organization members were watching from various standpoints. He caught the eye of a certain blonde, but she turned away from him. His distraction costed him, as the Supreme slashed him across the face. The Organization laughed at him. Axel clenched his fist. The Supreme stood there, waiting for his move. Xhäs charged and their weapons met. They met each other blow for blow.

"Why are you doing this, Xhäs?" the Supreme asked. "Why do you betray us?"

"I have to find my Somebody." Xhäs answered. "That's the only way we can be whole."

"Is that so...?" the Supreme sneered. "You are a fool. My path is the only way."

"Whatever it is you're planning, I don't care." Xhäs said. "I know what I have to do, so just leave me be."

"I can't do that, Xhäs." the Supreme answered. "You have delved too deep. Either return to us. Or I end you here."

"I choose neither!" Xhäs cried as he pushed away from the Supreme, doing his signature flip-kick. He then slashed at the Supreme's chest, before leaping backwards and into an awaiting portal. The last thing he saw was the Supreme looking at him sadly.

* * *

Xhäs walked through the streets of Twilight Town, heading towards his house. He had bought it a few years ago, none of the Organization knew he had it, so it was relatively safe. He had left the Organization around a month ago and he still had to avoid them. He stiffened as a knife embedded itself in a nearby lamp post, missing his head by mere inches. "Tch, tch, tch." a familiar voice muttered. "You're getting sloppy, Xhäs."

He turned to the owner of the voice. "Xene." he said. She laughed at him, almost sadistically. "Xene, what happened?"

"What happened?" she asked innocently. She suddenly became enraged. "What happened? _You _happened damn you!" she shrieked as she hurled more of her knives at him.

He dodged them, but they kept coming, she was summoning them as fast as she was throwing. Next she sent a bolt of lightning staight at him. "Xene, stop!" he cried.

"No," she whispered. "It's time to hurt you as much as you hurt me." She charged at him, her knives cackling with electricity. Xhäs sighed as he faced her down. "The more pain for you, the more _fun_ for me."

'_Did my leaving really change you this much?_'

* * *

"Do you really think I'm gonna just say it?" a nineteen year old Larxene asked. "That's too easy! Oh, what to do?" she asked.

"Quit the games!" a brown haired boy shouted as he summoned a Keyblade and charged at her. She dodged his attack and kicked him clear across the room.

She sighed in amusement. "Alright, have it your way, then." she said. "I know it'll _kill_ you to hear this, but I think I can live with that. That _thing_ lying there is just a puppet that Vexen made as an experiment. No more than a toy." she said grinning sadistically. "It's laughable, really. It called _you_ a fake, but _it_ was a fabrication all along."

"Not Riku?" the boy repeated incredulously. "A fake?"

"Fake in every possible way." she answered. "It was only finished recently. How could it remember _anything_?" she asked as she picked up the Riku clone. "You get it? Its memories with Naminé were just planted, not real." she tossed it aside. "The girl you've been trying to protect all this time is really a manipulative witch who shackles people's hearts!" she said indicating a younger blonde girl.

The boy looked devestated. Larxene laughed and slapped the younger girl. "Naminé!" the boy shouted.

"Is this really what it's come to, Xene?"

Larxene spun around. "You!" she roared.

"This is how far you've fallen?" Xhäs asked.

"Shut the hell up!" she growled before smiling sadistically. "Time for my revenge... You won't beat me like you did in Twilight Town!"

"We'll see about that." Xhäs said as he summoned his Keyblades. The boy gasped. The two fought for what seemed like forever, when in reality, was only a few minutes. Larxene gasped for breath as she collapsed to her knees. "I'm sorry, Xene." Xhäs whispered as she transformed into a card. He then turned to the younger blonde. "Are you okay, Naminé?"

The girl, Naminé, smiled. "Yes, thank you Xhäs." He bent down, she actually quite short, as was the boy.

"Naminé you have to alter his memories of this." he whispered.

"What?" she whispered back, wide-eyed.

"Please, Naminé I can't be remembered." he begged. The girl sighed.

"I will, for you." she whispered. Xhäs smiled.

"Thank you," he said kissing her forehead. "You're like a little sister to me, Naminé. I have to go now."

She grabbed his hand. "Will I see you again?" she asked desperately. He smiled at her.

"Commit this to memory: We'll meet again, though we may not recognize each other, we'll meet again." he told her. She cocked her head.

"Where'd you get that?" she asked.

"My Somebody's mother used to say that when he was young." he said as he hugged her one last time. "Good-bye, Naminé."

"Good-bye..."

* * *

Xhäs stared at the boy sleeping before him. They looked alike in almost every way. The only noticable diffence being his scar. What would happen once they merged. "I spent all this time searching for you..." he whispered. "But now that I found you... I'm scared." He looked at the room and chuckled at the childish innocence. "Will I really become one with you? Or will I just be trapped inside you? Will you accept me?" he sighed. "There's only one way to find out." He finally grabbed his hand and closed his eyes as he was surrounded by light. A tear slid down his cheek and fell to the floor below. It didn't even reach the floor before it vanished in a flash of light. This was his destiny. It all begins... now.

* * *

**A/N: A little insight on Xhäs, what do you think? Last chapter of the day. I'm exhausted. Now I can just enjoy reading a few fics. Later!**


	21. Hollow Bastion

**A/N: Guys, I need ideas for new worlds! I can't have Duelist Kingdom be the only new world. I also made a big mistake in the last two chapters. Xemnas is the Superior, not he Supreme. I'll have to fix that. I'm using a few new ideas in this chapter.**

**Chapter 21 of Pokemon: Keyblade Masters**

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Sora sighed once they entered the ship. "The King, Riku - and now I've lost Kairi again, too." he said miserably.

"Don't be sad!" Donald encouraged.

"Yeah, you're the key that connects everything, remember?" Ash smirked.

"So it's all _my_ fault..." Sora muttered.

"Gawrsh, he didn't mean it like that, Sora!" Goofy exclaimed.

"We'll find them all." Terra assured. "Just do what you think is right."

"You said it!" Donald agreed. Sora looked up and smiled at them all.

"Thanks guys." he said. Suddenly Chip and Dale appeared on the screen.

"Oh no!" Chip cried. "Hallow Bastion, its all covered in darkness!"

"You're right, Chipper!" Dale agreed. "I wonder what's going on?"

"Sora!" Chip said. "You better hurry and check it out right away!"

"We're on it." Sora nodded as they approached the world.

* * *

As soon as the quintet disembarked, they found a group of Soldier Heartless running by. They gasped as the Heartless disappeared. "Looks like there's more Heartless now." Goofy noted.

Soon after that statement, a group of Dusks floated by and out of sight. "You're kidding me." Ash said angrily.

"L- let's go check in with everyone." Sora suggested.

"They're probably at Merlin's." Goofy said. They made their way through the marketplace and were about to go down the flight of stairs the led to Merlin's house when somebody caught Sora's attention.

"Oh, Cloud!" Sora exclaimed. Ash looked at the person. He had spiky blonde hair and half of a black trench coat. Cloud looked up slightly and glanced at them with shocking blue eyes and closed his eyes again.

"What'cha doing?" Donald asked.

"I'll get him," Cloud muttered, not really listening to them. "This time we settle it. Me, and the one who embodies all the darkness in me."

"Huh..." Donald muttered. "I thought you looked kinda different, Cloud."

"If I do, it's _his_ fault." he replied quietly.

"Whose?" Sora asked confused.

"Sephiroth." Cloud answered. "Tell me if you see him."

"Sephiroth...?" Ash muttered, making Cloud glance at him. "Long silver hair with an insanely long sword?"

"You've seen him?" Cloud questioned.

"Not for a few years, no." Ash shook his head. Cloud sighed and leaned back once more.

"We'll keep an eye out for him." Sora promised. "Well, be seeing you, Cloud."

"Be careful," Cloud advised, getting off the wall. "He messes with your head, makes you think darkness is the only way." Ash gripped Terra's shoulder as he had stiffened considerably throughout the conversation.

"Is something wrong?" Everyone turned to see Aerith.

"Uhh…"Sora mumbled.

Cloud started to walk away, and Aerith followed. Cloud turned to her. "It's nothing." Aerith leaned in, a curious air about her. "I don't want you involved," Cloud insisted.

Aerith considered that remark. "You mean you don't want me there when you go away again?"

"I just…" Cloud started. He paused, and said, "Listen, even if I go far away, I'll come back."

Aerith didn't seem convinced. "Do you mean it?"

Cloud looked away. "Yeah."

"See?" Aerith pointed out. "You don't look so sure." She paused. "Well, okay, I understand. Go-get things settled."

This caught Cloud off guard. It seems he had been expecting more of an argument. "Huh?"

"No matter how far away you are…" Aerith stated, "once you find your light… I'm sure it will lead you back here again. Right?"

Cloud thought about it for a moment. "I suppose."

Aerith nodded. "So I'll stay here… and I'll cheer for you… Okay, Cloud?"

"Okay," Cloud confirmed. He started walking down the stairs. Sora and the others approached her.

"I wonder if he'll be okay," Aerith commented.

"He'll be fine," Sora assured her. "I'm sure there's some light in him somewhere."

Ash nudged Terra. "Even in the deepest darkness, the light prevails."

"You're right." she said. She then noticed Terra. "Oh, and who are you?"

"This is Terra, a friend of ours." Sora said. "We better get to Merlin's house." They nodded and followed them down the stairs.

* * *

The quintet walked into Merlin's house to see Cid typing like mad on his computer. Yuffie was busy watching him.

"Hey." Sora called. The two turned to face them. Yuffie's eyes lit up.

"Hey, Ash!" she said happily, bouncing over to him. Ash quickly push Terra in front of him. Yuffie pouted and tried to go around him, only to find Ash once again on the other side. Terra looked annoyed at being used as an obstacle. While this was going on Cid was speaking with Sora. Donald and Goofy's attention was split between the strange scene and the conversation.

"Hey, fellas - you're just in time." Cid remarked. "I got some good news for ya, so get yerselves over to Leon's."

"What kind of news?" Sora asked.

"We found the computer Ansem was using!" Yuffie exclaimed while still trying to catch Ash. "You think you can escape a master ninja? Well think again!"

Everyone else sweat dropped. "Anyway, we should be able to get all sorts of of info on the Heartless and the Organization."

"And maybe something on the Dark Realm too, right?" Sora asked, catching Ash's and Terra's attention. The distraction costed him as Yuffie grabbed him and send him to the ground with a yelp. "It looks like that's where Kairi and Riku are."

"And the King!" Donald added.

"One of our friends are there, too." Terra said indicating himself and Ash, who was struggling to get Yuffie off of him. Ash managed to flip her off of him and crawled over to stand next to Sora.

"Well, go see for yourselves!" Cid urged.

"Yeah, it can't hurt!" Yuffie encouraged she turned back to Ash and winked, making him flinch. "I'll see you later, cutie."

"What do you mean?" Sora asked confused. Cid shook his head.

"Nothin'." he muttered. "Just get to the computer room through the castle postern. Watch your step!"

They nodded and made their way out the door. Once they left Yuffie turned to Cid. "Ya know, I can't help but feel as though I've met Ash before." she commented. "Like before we officially met the last time he came."

Cid stopped typing and looked at her. "I get the same feeling."

Yuffie shook her head. "That settles it, we've met him before, it can't be coincidence."

Cid resumed his typing. "We'll just have to wait and see."

* * *

The quintet walked into the bailey, and Ash could help but get the feeling like they were being watched. They were halfway through when a girl's voice called out to them. "Excuse me, are you with the Restoration Committee?"

Everyone looked back and didn't see anyone there at first. Then three small girls floated up into the air in front of them. "What the?" Ash muttered, seeing this odd sight.

One of them has brown hair that looked short on the front but there's a long strand at the back and at the end there are small yellow wings; her eyes are blue on the left and green on the right, wore a white tank-top with a blue skirt and half of what looked like a frilly dress on her right, and dark brown boots.

The other one is a blond with a blue headband around her forehead and green eyes, a red long scarf around her neck with the ends like wings as well, a yellow bikini-top and bottom, which was covered by a brown skirt, light blue arm bands on her forearms, and blue and light blue boots.

The last one had spiky white hair and red eyes, black tank-top, long black gloves, black shorts and long black boots; she also has small bat wings on her back.

"What's Leon's gang up to?" The brown haired one asked them.

Sora stepped forward. "They've got stuff to do over by the castle postern."

The brown haired girl turned to her companions. "Scoop!"

"Huh?" Ash and Terra mumbled.

"Let's report," the white haired one suggested, ignoring them.

"To who?" Donald asked them.

The brown haired one faced them again. "Our leader, of course!"

The blonde nodded. "Yeah, you know, Malefi-" Her voice was cut off as the white haired one shut her mouth forcefully. The five of them tried to listen to the muffled exclamations that followed.

The white haired girl shook her head at the five. "Don't mind her," she told them, "I assure you, we come in peace." The blonde nodded.

"You're kidding…" The brown haired girl mumbled.

The white haired girl let go of the blonde. "Problem? Okay, fine," she crossed her arms arrogantly and looked away, "You do the talking." She disappeared in a flash of red light.

The brown haired one turned back to them and bowed hastily. "So sorry about this!" She disappeared in the same fashion as the white haired one, but its colored blue.

The blonde glanced at Ash. "Oh," she cooed at him. "You're cute!" She kissed him on the cheek before giving them a little wave and disappeared in a flash of yellow light.

"What was that about?" Terra asked annoyed. Ash wiped his cheek.

"No idea." he said equally annoyed.

"Let's just go see Leon," Sora said as he began walking again. "I wanna see if that computer has any information on Riku or Kairi!" Terra gave one last irritated sigh before following him. Ash and the others did the same.

* * *

The group looked up at the castle above them as they approached the postern. Sora looked around. "Leon?" He called out.

"Over here!" A voice answered. They turned to the source and saw Aerith. Apparently it was her that answered his call. The five walked over to her.

"You guys found Ansem's computer?" Sora asked.

"Uh huh." she nodded. "The King is very interested in it."

"The King?" Donald asked.

"He's with Leon." she answered.

"We get to see the King!" Donald said excitedly.

"Hooray!" Goofy cheered.

"Er..." Sora said as he turned back to her. "If Riku with them?"

She shook her head and Sora sighed. "Well, at least I can ask the King about him." he said. "And the computer might be able to tell us something."

"Good idea." she smiled. She turned and pointed to a path. "They're right through there."

Ash turned to Terra. "We can ask Mickey if he knows anything about Aqua." Terra nodded as they followed Sora to the passage. As they walked throught he halls, Ash couldn't help but feel a certain... familiarity to the castle. "You know..." he started, catching his friends attention. "I feel like I know this place."

"Was Xhäs here?" Donald questioned. Ash shook his head.

"No, Xhäs has no memories of this place." he explained. "At least, none that were transferred to me."

"Maybe it's your own memories." Terra reasoned.

"But how?" Ash asked. "I couldn't have been here before..." '_Could I?_' he thought. _'No, it's impossible...'_

"C'mon, we should look for the study." Sora urged. Ash felt himself begin to walk. The others looked at him curiously and began to follow him. '_I know this place... Somehow, some way, I know this place.'_

Ash suddenly began running through the halls, catching the others off guard. They shouted and ran after him. Ash kept on running in the halls, using the memories he never knew he had to guide him. He saw a door at the end of a hall that was carpeted and stopped in front of it. He raised a hand to open it up, hesitated for a second then pressed his on it, opening it slowly. He looked around to find the study in a complete mess. There were books everywhere, boards with diagrams and notes in various places, and there were other broken and cluttered objects all over the place. Ash let out a 'hm' when he stepped in and looked around. He also noticed the only things that were in order were the chair at the desk and a portrait of some kind…

Ash walked up to the portrait, glaring. He had little to no memories of him, but he knew who this was. This was the Superior, even if he couldn't remember his name. Sora and the others came in, gasping for breath. Sora looked at the portrait sharply. "Ansem..." he muttered.

"What's wrong, Ash?" Terra asked in concern.

Ash shook his head. "I know this place." he said quietly. "Somehow, I know this place. It's like scattered dream, or a far-off memory."

Sora smiled. "You wanna line the pieces up, huh?" Ash nodded.

"So, uh, where's the King?" Terra asked. Sora looked around.

"Hello?" he called.

"Hey you!" A woman's voice called, making them all turn around in surprise. It was a woman with black hair that reached to the middle of her back and reddish eyes, black tank-top, gloves, skirt. Terra's eyes bugged out.

She looked around at the study then back at them. "I'm looking for somebody," she explained. "Have any of you seen a guy with spiky hair?"

"That's like half the guys in Hallow Bastion!" Ash exclaimed. The woman giggled.

"Well, he has spiky blonde hair that looks like a chocobo..." she started.

"Cloud?" they asked deadpan.

"Yeah!" the woman exclaimed. "Have you seen him?"

"Last we saw he was at the marketplace, but he could be anywhere by now." Ash told her. She sighed.

"I'll just take a look around." she said.

She checked the oddest places; the walls, the desks, the bookshelves… Especially one section of the wall between two of the bookshelves. She eventually kicked it with remarkable strength, making the room shake. "Holy..." Terra muttered as he grabbed a nearby bookshelf for support.

The woman gave up. "Sorry to bother you," she said as she walked to the door.

The five guys stood at attention. "No bother, ma'am!"

The woman walked out of the study and closed the door behind her. Terra suddenly sighed. "All the hot ones are taken." he complained. Everyone sweat dropped.

"So you made it," another voice behind them remarked. They turned back to find Leon leaning against the wall that the woman had been investigating.

"Leon!" Sora shouted. Leon got off the wall and nodded. They approached him.

"So, who are you?" he asked the only member of the group he hadn't met.

"Terra." he answered. "But isn't the King with you?"

Leon shushed them. "You'll meet him soon enough." This somewhat annoyed them all. Ash glanced at the wall behind Leon and went up to it. Everyone gave him an odd look while Ash looked at it. He then placed a hand on the wall. A computerized voice echoed throughout the room, what it said shocked them all.

"Identification verified: Ash of the Radiant Garden."

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**A/N: Cliffhangers, gotta love em. *hides* **

**Dont worry, you know how fast I update, but not for a few hours, sorry. Well, a LOT of you wanted Rikku, so there it is!**


	22. Answers Lead to More Questions

**A/N: I know you guys hated me for that cliffhanger, but I was with my aunt and cousin, who just came visit from Texas.**

**Chapter 22 of Pokemon: Keyblade Masters**

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_They turned back to find Leon leaning against the wall that the woman had been investigating._

_"Leon!" Sora shouted. Leon got off the wall and nodded. They approached him._

_"So, who are you?" he asked the only member of the group he hadn't met._

_"Terra." he answered. "But isn't the King with you?"_

_Leon shushed them. "You'll meet him soon enough." This somewhat annoyed them all. Ash glanced at the wall behind Leon and went up to it. Everyone gave him an odd look while Ash looked at it. He then placed a hand on the wall. A computerized voice echoed throughout the room, what it said shocked them all._

_"Identification verified: Ash of the Radiant Garden."_

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Terra shouted. "_This_ is Radiant Garden?"

"Radiant Garden?" Sora repeated. Ash was numb with shock.

"Yes..." Leon muttered as the wall disappeared in a flash of light. "I remember now..."

Sora turned to Leon. "Remember what?"

"This town used to have another name before the Heartless attacked." Leon explained. "It was Radiant Garden."

"But why does that computer recognize Ash?" Goofy questioned. Leon shook his head.

"I don't know, but maybe the computer does..." he muttered.

"Then what are we waiting for!" Sora exclaimed. He grabbed Ash's wrist and started dragging him off down the short hall. The others followed, eager to find out more. Ash was barely paying attention. '_Ash of the Radiant Garden?'_ he thought. _'But how is that possible?'_

"This is it!" Sora exclaimed upon entering a room with a computer terminal and a machine of some sort behind it. He ran up to the computer. "Okay, where's Kairi, where's Riku?" He typed couple of keys then smacked them. Apparently, he never used a computer before.

"Hey, easy, you wanna break it?" Leon scolded. Ash sweat dropped.

"Um, Sora, have you ever used a computer before?" he asked. Sora looked back sheepishly. Ash sighed. "Move, let me try." Sora did so and Ash took over. Ash took the mouse and clicked on Internet Explorer. Leon sweat dropped while everyone else looked fascinated. Ash typed in 'Riku'. Large words popped up: NO DATA. Sora sighed. Ash tried 'Kairi' and a picture of a little red head standing next to a raven haired boy popped up. Everyone read the words.

Kairi: Princess of Radiant Garden and Princess of Heart. Daughter to Ansem the Wise...

"Whoa!" Sora shouted. "She's Ansem's daughter?"

"No way!" Donald agreed. "If she's a Princess of Heart, how can she be Ansem's daughter?" Ash was about to read more when Goofy yelped in surprise, pointing at the ceiling. Everyone looked up to see a blue and furry koala-like being hanging off the ceiling. The koala thing yelps and falls onto the computer. "Get offa there!" Donald shouted and jumped up to catch him, pressing all sorts of keys in the process. The koala thing dodged and jumps off, Donald spins around, only to here alarms.

"Attention current user!" a computerized voice cried. "This is a warning: Further misuse of this terminal will result in immediate defensive action." the little koala thing took the chance to sneak away.

"Who's there?" Sora demanded.

"I am the Master Control Program." the voice answered. "I oversee this system."

"Where are you?" Sora asked confused. Ash ran to the computer.

"You're talking to the computer itself, Sora!" Ash answered. "Donald!" he shouted. "Get off!" Donald began panicking and took a step back. More alarms sounded.

"Donald!" Everyone shouted.

"I'm sorry!" he shouted back.

"Decision gate reached." the voice said. "You are now under arrest."

"Arrest?" Sora asked incredulously. Goofy walked over to Donald and tried to pick him up. Leon looked at the device in the back of the computer room, which was starting to glow with a bright light.

Leon shouted, "Run!"

Everyone looked at Leon, then the device. The device shot beams of light at the quintet, freezing them in place. Then the beams started to make them disappear block by could only watch in shock as this was happening and the quintet were completely in the machine.

* * *

Numbness… that's what Ash is feeling now. Slowly, the numbness went away and he twitched his fingers. He slowly got up and groaned. He gasped at what he saw. All around him was a blue blocky space, with some red trim in areas. There were circuitry lines all over the place.

"What just happened?" He wondered out loud. He looked at his hands and did a take. His fingers are gray when the places his gloves are dark blue. He looked over himself. His outfit changed into some kind of blue jumpsuit, complete with helmet, and it had a lighter blue circuitry design.

"What the?" Ash muttered. He heard a groan behind him. He turned around and saw Sora and Terra on the ground. "Sora! Terra!" he shouted as he ran over to them. He stopped and helped Sora up, as he was already conscious. Ash turned and shook Terra, who groaned.

"What happened?" he asked. Ash shook his head and helped him up. They then heard a voice behind them.

"Sora!" Donald shouted. They turned and saw Donald and Goofy with their hands up, being escorted by a group of Stafter Heartless.

Sora looked surprised by their helplessness. "Go on, show 'em who's boss!"

As Sora approached the escort, a red cylindrical light flashed beside them, and a man in a red jumpsuit appeared next to the four of them. Ash blinked. "Um, who are you?"

"I am Commander Sark," the man replied.

Sora didn't look very intimidated. "A Heartless commander?" He smirked.

Sark grunted at Sora's ignorance. "Observe." He stretched forth a hand toward Donald and Goofy, and a red light began to shine from it. Donald and Goofy wailed as they were shocked by their suits.

"Okay, you're the boss!" Ash shouted. "We get it!"

The red light faded, and Sark smirked as he glanced back at Ash, Sora, and Terra. A few moments later they found themselves in some kind of cell. Donald and Goofy looked out the window. "Man, what kind of world is this, anyway?" Sora asked. Everyone shook their heads. A new voice answered the question.

"You're inside a mainframe computer system." They turned to the source and saw a man, who was leaning against a computer terminal. This guy was wearing a blue jumpsuit, like our heroes and somewhat similar to Sark's.

"Er, what's he mean, Ash?" Sora whispered. Ash shook his head.

"I may know a little more about computers than you, Sora," he muttered. "But I'm no expert."

Sora nodded and turned back to the man. "A what system?" Sora queried.

"A computer system – for processing data," the man insisted. "This system is a copy of one created by a corporation called ENCOM. The original program was destroyed." The man stood up. "But this program was acquired by another User," he continued. "This new User updated and customized the programs, renaming the system 'Hollow Bastion OS.'" He approached the quintet as he spoke. "He used the system for town maintenance, and to advance his private research."

Everyone just stared at him blankly. "Uhhh..." Ash began thinking.

"My name is Tron," the man said, introducing himself. "I'm a security program. But now I'm under arrest, same as you."

Sora looked back to the others, with a confused expression on his face. "Did you guys get any of that?" Everyone looked at Ash, looking for answers.

"So... wait!" he gasped in shock. "We're _inside _the _computer_?"

"Huuuuh?" they all shouted.

Tron just looked at them with a confused look, wondering why they were panicking.

"How the heck did we get in the computer?" Donald asked as they all went into a huddle.

"I don't understand..." Sora muttered. Ash got an idea.

"Wait..." he whispered. "Back on my world, we had his machine that could transport Pokemon from across the world in an instant, maybe this is the same technology?"

"Well, if it worked on Pokemon, I see no reason it couldn't be modified to work on other creatures." Terra reasoned.

"Gawrsh, how are we gonna get out of here?" Goofy queried, tapping his head with his finger, his way of thinking.

"I don't know," Ash replied. He glanced at Tron without turning his head. "But maybe Tron could help us." Everyone nodded.

"Is there something wrong?" Tron asked them.

They turned to him. "Nothing's wrong Tron," Sora replied. "Anyway, I'm Sora."

"Terra."

"Donald Duck!"

"Goofy, too!"

"Nice to meet you, Tron." Ash said politely. "I'm Ash."

Tron did a take upon hearing Ash's identity. "You're Ash?" he questioned in shock.

Everyone looked at him confused. "Yeah," Ash said confused.

Tron looked excited. "Oh, I must say this is an honor!" he told them, simply adding to the confusion. "I've finally gotten the chance to meet the son of my User!"

Ash's eyes bugged out. "Who, who's your User?" he demanded. Everyone looked at him in anticipation. Tron blinked.

"Why, Ansem the Wise of course."

* * *

**A/N: Stay away from me! I have pepper spray!**

***Spray's himself in the eyes***

**Ahhhh!**


	23. Space Paranoids

**A/N: I hate Space Paranoids so much... NOTE. This is a repost. For some reason, my Chapters delete themselves. This happened with Ch21 too. I'm not sure what's happening.**

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"_Nice to meet you, Tron." Ash said politely. "I'm Ash."_

_Tron did a take upon hearing Ash's identity. "You're Ash?" he questioned in shock._

_Everyone looked at him confused. "Yeah," Ash said confused._

_Tron looked excited. "Oh, I must say this is an honor!" he told them, simply adding to the confusion. "I've finally gotten the chance to meet the son of my User!"_

_Ash's eyes bugged out. "Who, who's your User?" he demanded. Everyone looked at him in anticipation. Tron blinked._

_"Why, Ansem the Wise of course."_

Ash froze in shock. He could see the others do the same. "W- what did you say?"

"You're father, Ansem the Wise is my User." Tron repeated confused by his reaction.

"It can't be..." Ash whispered. "My father's a monster..."

"Ash." Sora said assertively as they pulled him into another huddle. "What your father did doesn't matter."

"Yeah, you're nothin' like 'em!" Goofy reassured him. Donald nodded enthusiastically.

"We're friends, Ash." Terra added. "We're not going to start treating you any differently."

Ash smiled. "Thanks guys." he said gratefully.

"Just one thing..." Terra said suddenly. They turned to him. "If Ansem is your father... doesn't that make Kairi your sister?"

"...I am?" Ash asked incredulously.

"You are!" Sora said excitedly. "That's so cool!"

"That also makes you prince, if Kairi's a princess." Donald pointed out.

"Wow..." Sora shook his head.

"Wow is right..." Ash muttered. "This is too much to take in." Terra nodded sympathetically.

"Excuse me?" Tron broke in. "I'm sorry, but if you're all Users, I would have to suggest getting out of here quickly. Who knows what the MPC will do to you?"

"MCP?" Sora asked confused.

"The Master Control Program." Tron answered. "It controls the whole system. If you idle here, you will be de-rezzed."

Everyone jumped, knowing that _that_ couldn't be good. "De-rezzed?" Donald exclaimed.

"So, how do we get outta here?" Sora asked. Tron crossed his arms in thought before walking over to a strange yellow machine behind him.

"This terminal could have gotten you back to the User world." he explained. Sora grinned happily. "But the MCP cut the power 50 microcycles ago." he finished, making them all sigh. Tron crossed his arms once more. "If we could bring the energy core in the canyon online, we could power it back up." Everyone looked back up at him. "The problem is, we're stuck in this cell." he said, pointing at a glowing 'door' with an orange keyhole symbol flashing in the center. "We're not going anyway unless we unlock the energy fields."

"Unlock, huh?" Terra asked, summoning his Keyblade. He looked at the others and nodded. He walked over to the 'door' and began attacking it with his Keyblade. Eventually the door disappeared, and Terra dismissed his Keyblade. Tron approached him.

"Remarkable..." he muttered. "It seems you have some unique functions." Tron looked out into the hallway. "I'll go with you to the canyon. You'll need someone who can interface with the energy core, right?"

Terra shook his head. "If you say so..." he muttered.

Sora and the others walked up to them. "Thanks a lot, Tron."

They walked through the hall ahead, and arrived at a bright circular platform. When all six of them were on it, the platform sped toward the canyon. They arrived at the canyon area after a few minutes. They got off the platform and walked down the path in front of them. It wasn't long until they came upon a big room with a huge structure in the middle, a circuitry design around it, and a bunch of junk lying around at the sides. They walked into the room and stopped in front of the structure.

Tron looked up at the structure. "This is the energy core."

Ash looked around them. "So how do we power this thing up?"

Tron pointed at the top of the structure, where large red blocks were jutting out from the top it; where there was a hole. "We need to find the part that will fit into that outlet." He then indicated the pile of junk around them. "There should be something we can use in all of this junk."

Ash looked around. He saw something flashing red. "Hey, there it is!" He exclaimed, pointing at the block. Just as he said that, the junk started to float all of a sudden and revolve around them.

They tried to search for the block but they lost sight of it as soon as it happened. "Things can never be easy can it? Terra sighed. After a couple minutes of searching, they found the red block once more. Sora pointed his Keyblade at the block and raised it. The block followed his action. When the block was level with the hole in the energy core, Sora swung his Keyblade forward setting the block into place. The device in the center flashed with a bright light as the energy returned to the machine. The energy core sank into the ground, rotating as it did so. Once the flat top was even with the rest of the floor, the whole room lit up as the circuitry lines became bright with energy.

"Okay, mission accomplished?" Sora asked hopefully.

Tron nodded. "Yes." Everyone let out a sigh of relief. "Now... will you do something for me?" Everyone sighed again.

"You got it!" Sora said. Tron looked surprised.

"Don't you want to hear what it is first?" he asked.

"You helped us, now its our turn!" Donald insisted. Tron shook his head.

"You guys really _are _Users." he muttered. "You're actions are totally illogical."

"Uh, thank you?" Ash muttered.

"Let's hurry back to the Pit Cell." Tron suggested. Sora crossed his arms.

"Where's that again?" he asked.

"The sector where we met." Tron reminded him.

"Right, let's get going then." Terra said as he began walking. The others quickly followed.

* * *

In the Pit Cell, Tron was typing away on the terminal, trying to get the Research Lab function to work for the quintet. The aforementioned quintet watched him from behind. After a moment of silence, Sora finally asked, "So, what did you want us to do?"

Tron stood up and turned to them. "Find the password to access the DTD."

Donald smiled. "You bet!"

Sora was yet again confused. "So, um…"

"DTD is the name my User gave to the dataspace," Tron explained, sensing the question. "Copies of all original system programs are stored there, along with anything that's sensitive or restricted."

Goofy looked excited. "Is there stuff about the Heartless, or Organization XIII?"

Tron considered this. "Hmm… Most likely." He knelt back down in front of the terminal and resumed typing. "A number of my functions were appropriated when I last took on the MCP. That's why I need the password. If I can get inside the DTD, I can access my original backup program and restore all my functions."

He turned back to them, showing more determination than they had seen from him before. "Then, I'll be able to put this system back the way it was before the MCP took control and changed everything. The way it was supposed to be. A free system for you- the Users."

Something seemed to strike Goofy as odd. "Gee, Tron, ain't the MCP one of those programs, too? Do ya know who it was who made it?"

"Actually…" Tron seemed to hesitate. "I don't know."

Suddenly, the screen on the terminal started to crackle behind Tron, who immediately got to work again. "Looks like the MCP is on to us. I'll keep this terminal up and running. You better exit the system, now!"

"We'll get ya the password!" Donald cut in.

Tron finished up. "Okay, you're good to go. Hurry!"

The quintet ran to the terminal and were enveloped in beams of light, disappearing.

* * *

Back outside in the lab, Leon was typing away trying to get the quintet out of the computer system. He stopped and spun around when a blue light shone forth from the machine. Slowly the quintet materialized. They blinked and looked around, finding themselves back in Ansem's computer room.

"We did it!" Donald cheered.

"Where have you been?" Leon asked, folding his arms.

Sora folded his arms as well, trying to find words to explain it. "Well, there's this, um, world inside the computer… where these… um, 'programs' live, and…" He continued to describe the world of data.

"So in other words..." Leon began. "Ansem's research data is off-limits unless we know the password."

"Pretty much." Ash agreed.

"But you've already defeated Ansem..." Leon muttered.

"Gawrsh, maybe we'll never find the password!" Goofy said worriedly.

"That means..." Leon sighed. "this is all a wild goose chase."

"You're chasing what now?" a voice broke in. They turned to the source and saw the same woman from before. "Well, well! A hidden room!" she said. "Guess I better take another look around." With that, she walked back to the study. The quintet glanced at each other before running after her.

They ran into the study to see the woman literally trashing the place, such as throwing stuff into the air.

"Man, she just won't give up," Sora commented.

"And neither will we." Ash said.

"C'mon we've gotta look for that password!" Goofy reminded them as the woman continued to trash the place. Sora nodded.

"Right, we made a promise to Tron." he said.

The woman eventually went up to the portrait of Ansem. She nodded. "Excuse me," she muttered as she went to the left side of the picture. Without any effort at all, she lifted it up. Everyone stared at her.

"Er, you need some help with that?" Ash asked sweat dropping.

"No thanks, cutie," she grunted, making him blush a bit, as she set it down to the side, causing the room to shake a little. She dusted her hands off as she looked at a diagram of some sort on the wall. She punched it, hard, making the dust fly and the room to shake more. After that she shrugged with a sigh. "Oh well," she muttered and was about to walk off.

"Hey, wait!" Ash called. She turned to him curiously. "You haven't given us your name. I'm Ash by the way."

The woman smiled warmly. "Name's Tifa," she said with a wink. "See ya." With a wave of her hand, she left. Sora turned to him.

"What's with you and girls?" he asked.

"Tell me your secret!" Terra demanded, making everyone sweat drop.

"I have no idea." Ash sighed. Terra sighed and everyone turned back to the diagram.

"What's this doodle?" Sora asked.

"Hollow…" Donald began to read, "Main… Security… Tron… Door… to… um…" He fumbled with the last word.

"Looks like a diagram or somethin'" Goofy commented. Ash took over reading.

"Tron... Door to... Darkness!" Ash cried out the last word making them all jump. Sora's eyes widened.

"D-T-D!" he said as he pointed out each individual letter.

"DTD!" the other agreed.

Leon walked back into the room. "What's up?"

Sora pointed at the diagram. "Look at this! This must be the dataspace!" He exclaimed. "The DTD. See? The Door to Darkness!"

Leon walked over and looked at the doodle. "What do you know," he muttered, "But… that still leaves the password."

"Say, fellas, did someone mention the Door to Darkness?" A new voice asked. Everyone turned to the source of the voice, and Sora did a take.

It was a familiar person in a black coat. He was short, around 2 ft, and had two large round ears on top of his head.

"Your Majesty!" Sora, Donald and Goofy exclaimed.

The King quietly shushed them, and looked around nervously. He quickly shut the door behind him. He barely took off his hood when Donald tackled him in a bear hug. Goofy ran over to them and picked both of them up, laughing in excitement.

Sora was also excited. "Long time no see!"

"Shh!" The King shushed them again. "The Organization might be listening!" He scolded them.

Sora did a take with realization and nodded, in the same gesture the King did. Goofy put Donald and the King down. The King noticed Terra at this point. "Oh, you must be Terra!" he said with a smile. "I see Ash knows what he's doing then?" Terra nodded.

"I'm not sure how to respond to that, Mickey..." Ash muttered. The King chuckled at him. "Mickey, how is it you know me?"

"How could I not?" Mickey asked, confusing them all. "Anyway, you mentioned the Door to Darkness?"

"Uh, yes, sir," Goofy replied. "Ya see, we're lookin' for the secret password."

The King looked a little confused. "Password?" He repeated. Everyone fell over. "Oh, you mean like a code right?" The King deduced finally, just as the others got back up.

"Uh, yes." Ash confirmed.

"Well," the king said suddenly. "the Door to Darkness can only be opened by the seven princesses. There's Snow White, Jasmine, and Belle…"

Leon blinked. "Of course…" He muttered. He then took off into the other room.

"So the princesses are the password?" Terra asked.

"What are you tryin' to do?" Mickey asked.

"With that password, we can get access to Ansem's research data." Sora answered.

Mickey became excited. "So that means you might be able to find out where he is!"

The others stared at him before Sora laughed, braking the silence. "Stop joking around, Your Majesty. We already defeated Ansem. You know that."

Mickey blinked, then folded his arms. "Looks like I've got a lot of explainin' to do."

Donald and Goofy stood at attention. "We're listening, Your Majesty!" Donald exclaimed.

"Well, anyways, I've got a question…" Sora began but was cut off.

"Hey, isn't Tron waiting for you guys?" Leon asked them, appearing at the doorway to the lab. The group looked between Leon and Mickey, trying to weigh the two important tasks.

"Don't worry," Mickey assured them, "I'm not goin' anywhere. If those Heartless attack, I'll stand and fight with everybody here."

Sora nodded in agreement. "Yeah… we will too."

"Then let's talk more later." Mickey said.

"That's a promise!" Donald agreed. The King nodded.

"I'll see ya when ya get back!" he promised. He blinked. "Oh, one more thing! Let me give your clothes some new powers, Sora."

"Really?" Sora asked excitedly. Mickey smiled.

"You bet! You've done so much, just consider it a thank-you present." he said as he handed Sora a yellow sphere.

"Thanks, Your Majesty!" Sora said. "We're heading off to see Tron now, so wait here for us, okay?"

"I will, Sora," the King promised. "And remember, be careful!" They nodded and made there way into the lab... or at least tried to, as a blue furball landed right on top of Terra.

"Terra!" the blue thing shouted. Terra blinked as he regained his senses. His eyes widened.

"626?" he asked incredulously. "Was that you that fell on the computer?"

The koala nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, but me Stitch now!" Stitch then began talking all sorts of gibberish before handing Terra a charm with a ukulele on it. "Use!" he said before taking off.

"Er, wha?" Ash began. Terra shook his head.

"A friend of mine." Terra answered. "Now let's go." They walked into the computer room and Ash started typing in the correct commands. Ash pressed the final key and quickly joined the others. The device flashed again, and it sucked them all in block by block until they were completely converted into data again.

* * *

The five of them appeared in the pit cell.

"Here we are…" Sora said as he looked around the place.

It was just the same as they had left it… well, almost. "Gawrsh, I wonder where Tron is?" Goofy asked as he approached the terminal.

"Don't touch that!" Donald shouted. The computer screen quickly turned fuzzy.

"Huh?" Goofy asked confused.

"Goofy!" Sora scolded. Suddenly light surrounded them as they were teleported away. Goofy spun around.

"I didn't do it!" he cried before teleporting as well.

They reappeared later in the middle of a huge flat arena-like area, with a proportionate grid beneath them.

"I didn't touch nothin'!" Goofy insisted.

Ash looked around the area. "I… don't think it has to do with you Goofy," Ash said, a creeping feeling coming over him.

"Welcome to the game grid," Sark's voice echoed through the arena, startling them.

"Game grid?" Sora repeated.

"That's right," Sark confirmed, "you've been selected to play a few games. Lose, and you will be subjected to immediate de-resolution. Win? Well…" Sark chuckled evilly, "no one wins."

"We're not gonna play your games!" Donald protested.

"You have no choice," Sark insisted.

Ash glared at the arena, growling. "Alright, bring it on!"

As soon as he said that, a bunch of Heartless called Magnum Loaders appeared around them. The group surveyed their surroundings before they got out their weapons. Suddenly, a big heartless called a Devastator Heartless appeared near the others. It charged an electrical sphere and fired it at Sora. The boy jumped out of the way. The sphere narrowly dodged them both and hurled straight toward wall and exploded, making a huge crack in the wall that led all the way through.

Then an idea popped into Ash's head. "C'mon, we gotta go through there to escape!" He shouted to the others as he pointed at the crack.

"Right!" Sora exclaimed and the group ran to make their way to the crack. Suddenly walls formed around them, blocking their path.

"You think it would be that easy?" Sark taunted.

"So what, this is a maze?" Terra demanded.

"This is a game, right?" Ash asked smirking. "How do you get through a game?"

"By winning?" Goofy questioned.

"Nope."

"By cheating." Terra finished as activated his armor. He summoned his Keyblade, transforming it into his Keyblade Ride. Ash quickly did the same. "Hop on!" Terra ordered. Donald and Goofy hopped onto his while Sora hopped up behind Ash. The two vehicles quickly lifted off the ground and flew over the walls. The Heartless began flying as well, and Ash shot them down.

"What is this?" Sark demanded. "This is not how you play the game!"

"Too bad!" Sora taunted as they made their way through the crack. The five of them were teleported back into the Pit Cell. Sora looked up and saw a familiar figure motionless on the ground. "Tron!" he shouted as he ran over to him. Tron made his way to his feet.

"I don't understand..." Tron began. "Why are you here?"

"We came to give you the password!" Sora answered confused.

Tron rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Why didn't you just transmit the data?"

"Transmit?" Donald asked and Tron almost fell but Ash and Sora caught him and held him upright.

"Hey, are you okay?" Sora asked.

"I'll be alright, once we access the DTD," he replied and everyone nodded.

* * *

Tron walked up to the computer screen." Alright, what's the password?" he questioned.

"Well," Donald began. "There's Belle, Snow White..."

Goofy continued. "Aurora, Alice..."

"Jasmine." Ash said.

"Cinderella." Terra continued. Everyone turned to Sora.

"Kairi..." he whispered quietly.

"...Kairi... got it." Tron said as he finished typing. Suddenly there was a shake and the DTD started to glow and Tron knew immediately that it had worked. "That did it!"

An alarm went off saying "Now switching DTD from hibernation mode to active mode, this process will take some time so please enjoy a game while the process is running," the program said as everyone started panicking.

"Oh no," Tron muttered as he frantically started hitting buttons on the interface.

"Not another game," Sora complained.

"No, it's the DTD's final security routine." Tron explained. "This isn't a game, stay focused!" Suddenly Heartless began appearing. The group split up as Tron began freezing the monitors.

When the process was finished, Tron looked at himself and felt the new power surging through him and then said, "I'm as good as new! All my functions have been restored!"

"Oh boy!" Donald cheered.

Suddenly the alarm went off again and a bolt of lightning hit the spot a few centimeters from where Tron was standing and knocked all of them back.

"Finally, I have full access to the DTD, my takeover of the system is now complete," the MCP said. "I might have anticipated such a simple password," the MCP went on with his rant while everyone else face-faulted.

"If it was such a simple password, then why did it figure it out itself?" Terra muttered and everyone else shrugged.

"What's this, an emergency self-destruct program for the town, let's see how it performs," the MCP said.

"NO!" Tron cried as he ran back to the interface and started hitting the buttons on it.

"Program, you changed the password," the MCP said rather irritably.

"There, that should by us some time," Tron muttered, walking over to the group.

"Tron, tell us what's going on?" Ash asked, looking nervous and confused.

"The MCP is loading a hostile program in the I/O Tower!" Tron explained as quickly as possible while making it clear so that everyone could understand what he was talking about.

"What do we do?" Donald asked.

"We've got to protect the User town." Tron answered everyone nodded in agreement.

"Let's head to the tower!" Tron declared.

* * *

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Ash muttered, looking at the purple and black energy that was there.

"It must be total chaos outside," Tron muttered, also looking at it.

"I think that there is going to be trouble _inside _too!" Donald said grimly.

"Hey, there's another one of those terminals," Ash said, pointing towards the terminals.

"That could come in handy," Goofy said.

"Ready?" Donald asked and everyone nodded as they ran back to see a program that was currently spinning its arms as it moved closer to the group.

Everyone stared at it until the MCP spoke, "I'm disappointed in you, Program, why do you insist on allying with these selfish Users?" the MCP asked, adding a bit of contempt to the last bit.

"Because, I want to help them, something written in my code tells me to do what is right," Tron replied.

"Really? And what command would that be?" the MCP asked coldly and Tron shrugged, turned to Sora and Ash and then said, "I can't really say for sure."

"Friends, they just help each other, that's all," Sora explained and everyone nodded their agreement.

"Uh oh, look out!" Ash cried as the program started glowing on the sides and sealed the exit.

"I guess we have to fight," Goofy said as they pulled out their weapons.

The hostile program came closer to the ground and everyone got into a stance and prepared for battle.

Immediately after the battle started Sora had an idea but first he used Quick Run to get closer to the program and then put his idea to work.

"Tron," he called and he nodded, getting the idea and they gave each other a high five.

"Running execute!" he shouted as an interface appeared out of nowhere and a large of number of small pyramids appeared

The pyramids would attack the program from all sides and it drop orbs that Sora and Ash would pick up and Ash along with Terra were also landing combos on the program while Sora was working with Tron to beat the program and freeze it.

"Access approved!" Tron shouted.

"Take this!" Sora cried as the pyramids flew over to the hostile program and started attacking it.

Ash also had an idea and spun his keyblade and froze the program temporarily so Sora drove into Valor Form and started doing combos while Ash was also landing combos with his Explosion ability. The hostile program randomly shot projectiles and lasers at them but while Sora was in Valor Form he used high jump to evade while Ash also high jumped to dodge. The program flew around the room at high speed, but Tera knocked it back with his Keyblade, freezing it. This was the only chance they needed as everyone attacked with everything they had. The program fell to the ground and exploded in a large flash of light and everyone covered their eyes.

* * *

Tron led everyone back to the I/O tower and was working on starting the terminal back up so that he could send them back to the User world. "I really owe you one, with all my functions up and running, I think I have a chance to getting system control away from the MCP, now, I'd better get back to work, it's what my user would want," Tron said as he continued working.

"It's what Ansem would want," Sora muttered as he turned to look at everyone and they nodded in encouragement.

"Listen, Tron," Sora began, not sure how to explain what had happened while they were in the user world. "We didn't get the password from Ansem, we sorta just found it back in the user world, by accident, and one more thing…Ansem, he was our enemy," Sora said. "I mean…he still is…I guess," Sora finished rather lamely.

"Well actually... he's my enemy too," Tron admitted.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked, looking rather confused.

Tron stood and turned to face them before he said, "Ansem to ENCOM's original system and customized it for his personal use. I was part of that system so Ansem modified me, too. So that makes him my User. But Ansem was also the one who brought back the MCP. The Ansem I first knew wouldn't do that. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier," Tron finished.

"That's okay but... now I _really _don't get it." Sora said.

"I don't understand it either." Tron said slowly.

"Could it have been someone else?" Ash asked.

"Possibly..." Tron muttered. "But it would have to have been someone close to Ansem... I think User's, like you, are going to be the ones who will finally figure it out. You have the ability to take illogical routes and still arrive at the answers you seek. Now go - before the MCP starts acting up again!" Tron turned back to the terminal. "Any data that you need from the DTD can be accessed directly from my User's terminal, I'll keep a dedicated access channel open for you. I changed the password so you won't have to worry about the MCP for a while," Tron explained.

"Access... Channel?" Sora asked confused.

"I knew you'd ask, it's a very important link between our worlds, it's how we stay connected," Tron said with a small chuckle as he activated the terminal.

"Oh so basically if we want to come back, we just have to use your User's terminal?" Terra asked and Tron nodded.

The group was surrounded by data as Tron said, "You…my friends…are the new password."

Ash nodded and said, "Thanks Tron, take care."

"You too and give my best to the Users," Tron said, giving them a thumbs up as they disappeared.

* * *

**A/N: Nothing much to say...**


	24. The Battle of Hollow Bastion

**A/N: Dark Magician Girl will act more like a normal summon/friend with a flirtatious personality.**

**Chapter 24 of Pokemon: Keyblade Masters**

**

* * *

**

In a flash of light, the quintet was back and approached the computer. "Well that's that," Sora said. Leon smirked at them and pointed over his shoulder.

"Look," The quintet did so and saw chibi versions of themselves winking at them repeatedly. The words 'Thank you!' were underneath them.

"Tron..." Ash said with a smile. "Hang in there."

"So..." Leon began. "where do we start?"

"I know!" Sora exclaimed. "Let's access the DTD!" He then moved out of the way and began looking around for something. Leon stepped over to the computer and answered their unasked question.

"The King's checking the situation in town." he told them. "He'll be back soon, so don't worry." He looked up when a new screen popped up. "Hey, look, it's asking for a password."

"That's easy," Goofy began. "It's..."

"Sora!"

"Donald!"

"Terra."

"Ash!"

"Goofy, too!"

"Thats... to the point." Leon commented.

"Well...?" Sora asked anxiously.

"That did it." Leon answered. "We're in." He turned to them. "I have to go into town. Need to see what that last shakeup did."

"You're not going to check out the data?" Ash asked frowning.

"Yeah, it wasn't exactly easy to get!" Sora agreed. Leon glanced back at the computer screen.

"I'm coming right back," he assured them. "Hey, guys - why don't you get started on loading the data and copying it down?" Sora and Terra made a face. "It's just a few keystrokes, easy, right?" he asked as he walked out of the room. Sora sighed as Leon left and turned back to the computer.

"Let's give it a try." he muttered as he stared at the screen.

"Did it work?" Donald inquired.

"Hey, these things take time, okay?" Sora exclaimed.

"Whoa, calm down there," Terra chuckled.

"Uh, Ash?" Goofy began. "Maybe you should take over?"

"But!"

"No 'buts', Sora!" Donald scolded. "You don't know what you're doing and Ash has the most experience with computers!" Sora sighed and moved out of the way. Ash sweat dropped and walked up to the computer.

"Alright..." he muttered as he began typing.

"Whoa!" Sora gasped. "It's _doing _something!" Everyone fell over at that.

"Of _course _it's doing something," Terra exclaimed.

"I think it wants to know what _we_ wanna know." Goofy commented.

"Riku and Kairi!" Sora exclaimed as he began pressing buttons.

"Sora!" Terra scolded. A screen popped up. DATA ERROR.

"No way..." Sora whispered. "Even Ansem's computer doesn't know..."

"Try 'Nobodies'." Terra suggested. Ash typed in 'Nobodies' and another screen popped up. The screen had a strange symbol on it and they were about to start reading when yet _another_ screen popped up. DATA ERROR.

"The data is corrupt." a computerized voice told them. Donald quacked in irritation.

"How about the Organization?" Goofy asked. Ash typed it in. DATA ERROR.

"The data is corrupt."

"Stupid computer!" Sora shouted as he began mashing random buttons.

"Sora!" Ash shouted. "Remember what happened last time we did that?"

Then a picture of a blonde man wearing a lab coat popped up. Ash felt as though he recognized him. "Who's he?" he asked his companions.

"Welp, I see ya got things workin'!" a familiar voice cut in. They turned to see the King standing in the doorway.

"Your Majesty!/Mickey!" The King shushed them and glanced around.

"Good goin'." he praised. "The computer should tell us the things we need to know."

"But it keeps on sayin' the data inside's all ker-skuffled."

"Corrupted." Terra corrected him.

"All we got is a picture of some guy we don't even know." Sora told him. Mickey looked at the picture and jumped.

"You don't know him?" Mickey asked. "Not even you, Ash?" Everyone turned to Ash confused. Ash shook his head.

"I feel like I know him, but... I don't remember anything." he admitted. Mickey sighed.

"That's Ansem the Wise." he told them. The gang looked between the picture and the King.

"Come on, are you teasing us again?" Sora asked.

"Did you forget what Ansem looked like, Your Majesty? Donald asked. Mickey gave them a funny look.

"Of course I do!" he insisted. "And this is him! I'm positive!"

"_This_ is my father?" Ash asked looking at the picture. "I thought he had silver hair?"

Sora began pushing the King into the other room. "Excuse me?" he asked. "Could you come this way, please?" Once everyone was there, Sora pointed to the picture on the wall, "See, _this _is Ansem, you know, the guy that we worked reeeeally hard to defeat?" Sora explained.

A light bulb seemed to go off in Mickey's head. "Oh, that's right." he muttered. "I never finished explaining..."

"Huh?" Donald quacked.

"Well," Mickey began. "The man in the picture is definitely the one who tried to take over Kingdom Hearts - the one you fellas defeated. But, what you actually fought was his Heartless. Ya see, he wasn't _really _Ansem. He just went around telling everybody that he was."

It was silent for a few moments before... "What?" Sora, Donald and Goofy shouted, making Mickey jump. "We went through all the trouble to defeat an impostor?" Sora cried.

"Yup, a fake." Mickey said cheerfully. "But he still had to be stopped."

"Aw, I can't believe it..." Donald muttered.

"Uh, I'm kinda confused..." Goofy said in a dazed manner. "If he's a fake, then what happened to the real Ansem?"

"Welp, that's just what I'm tryin' to figure out." Mickey said as he crossed his arms. "Ansem the Wise should know all about Organization XIII's plans, and what's been happening to the worlds. I'm pretty sure he'll give us some help." He turned back to them. "Ya know, I came close to finding him once..."

"Hmmm..." Goofy muttered.

"Don't tell me there's more?" Sora exclaimed. "I'm lost enough as it is!"

"Yeah, my head kinda hurts..." Ash muttered. Goofy turned to him.

"Well, let's see." he began. "Some feller named Ansem, who wasn't really Ansem, became a Heartless. Does that mean a Nobody got created when that happened, too?"

"Yup!" Mickey exclaimed. "And that Nobody is the leader of the Organization!"

"_What_?" everyone shouted, making Mickey flinch.

"That must have been one twisted guy!" Ash exclaimed. The others nodded in agreement. Mickey turned back to the portrait.

"I know I've met this fake Ansem before, and I've seen the leader of Organization XIII, too." he told them. "Kinda felt like bein' around the same fella."

"So where did you meet this guy?" Sora asked. Everyone leaned in, eager to hear his answer.

"Gosh..." Mickey muttered. "I can't remember." Everyone fell over. "Ansem the Wise -" he began as everyone picked themselves up. "the _real_ Ansem - must know the imposter's true identity. That's why I've got to find him and ask him about it."

"Mickey?" Ash asked. "I want to ask you a few things."

"I figured you would, Ash." Mickey said kindly.

"How can I be from Radiant Garden, if I grew up in Pallet Town?" he asked.

"Welp, let me answer your question with another question." Mickey said. "What do you remember of your childhood before the age of... say six?"

Ash blinked. "Not much, I... guess I never really thought about it..."

"And did your mother ever mention where you or she were from?" Again Ash shook his head.

"Ya see, some time ago, Radiant Garden was attacked by the Heartless, but this you know, right?" Ash nodded. Everyone else was paying close attention. "You and your family were caught in the attack. You and your mother, being with each other at the time, were sent to the Pokemon World. Kairi and your grandmother were sent to Destiny Islands, and everyone else was scattered throughout the other worlds."

"Like Traverse Town!" Sora exclaimed.

"Exactly." Mickey nodded. "For some reason, your memories, along with your mother's and Kairi's were erased. I don't have an explanation for that, I'm afraid."

"Kairi said she didn't remember where she came from..." Sora muttered. "Every time we asked her..."

"Maybe it was because the darkness tried to consume _them_ as well." Terra suggested.

Mickey shrugged. "Maybe, Kairi, being a Princess of Heart, and you, being a Keyblade Master, which I congratulate you for, by the way, not even _I'm_ a Master yet."

"You're not?" Sora, Donald and Goofy exclaimed in shock.

"Nope, and neither are you or Terra, Sora." Mickey said.

"You may only become a Master after passing the Master Qualification Exam." Terra explained. "I failed mine, sadly."

"Really?" Sora asked. "You mean like tests and stuff?"

"There's an entire society that revolves around the Keyblade." Mickey told them.

"Whoa..." Sora, Donald and Goofy whispered in awe.

"But, wait!" Ash blurted out. "My mom always said my father was a Pokemon Trainer!"

Mickey rubbed the back of his head and chuckled. "Well, ya see, he was for a while." he said. "He wasn't very good I'm afraid. I guess your mother remembers bits and pieces of her past."

Ash chuckled and turned back to the portrait. "So this person was using my father's name?"

"Yup!" Mickey nodded.

"You..." Sora muttered as he glared at the portrait. "You started all of this... thanks to you, Riku and Kairi... Oh! Your Majesty, do you know where Riku is?"

Mickey stiffened. "He's..." he began. He sighed. "I'm sorry. I can't help." Sora looked skeptical and a bit angry.

"Really, Your Majesty?" he asked. "Are you sure?"

Mickey turned away. "I'm sorry, Sora." Sora sighed.

"What about Kairi?" he begged. "Organization XIII might've kidnapped her."

Mickey spun around. "Oh, no!" he exclaimed. He turned back to the portrait. "Sora, Donald, Goofy, Terra, Ash." he turned back to them. "I was plannin' to go get help form Ansem the Wise. But - now I know I forgot the most important thing. Helping others should always come before asking others for help. We're safe and sound - and free to choose! So there's no reason we shouldn't choose to help our friends." He smiled at them. "Let's look for Riku and Kairi," he turned to Terra and Ash. "and Aqua and Ven together!" he finished. Suddenly a large tremor shook the whole room and nearly knocked them all down.

"Outside!" Terra shouted.

"Sounds like we gotta start helpin' out here!" Mickey said as he took off down the hall.

"He's right." Ash said. "Let's go!"

* * *

The moment they stepped out of the castle, they saw Maleficent surrounded by Dusks. She scoffed and disappeared in green flames. They turned to see the Nobodies and Heartless attacking each other. "Heartless!" Maleficent's voice sounded throughout the area. "Leave the white ones, turn your attention to Sora and his friends!"

The Armored Knight Heartless stopped attacking the Dusks and approached the quintet. "Uh oh!" Goofy exclaimed. Both the Heartless and the Nobodies began attacking them. Sora entered Wisdom Form and began firing some sort of laser beam out of his Keyblade, rather than attacking. Ash saw that he wasn't even touching the ground! Instead he was floating, allowing him to easily dodge the enemies' attacks. Within no time, they were all destroyed. Ash glanced at the stairs and saw three familiar forms approaching.

"Where's Maleficent?" Yuna asked.

"Looks like she ran away," Ash replied.

"That was _pret-ty _lame of her," Rikku commented.

"I guess we picked the wrong side," Paine said monotonously.

They then proceeded to huddle together and start talking about what they should do now. Everyone waited impatiently.

"Can we just leave?" Terra asked.

"Umm hey..." Sora began, making them turn to him. "If you're looking to pick sides, why don't you pick Leon's? They could always use help."

"Does this Leon have any treasure?" Yuna asked innocently.

"Yeah! Lots of stuff," Donald replied with a sinister grin on his face that only Terra seemed to notice.

"Perfect!" Rikku cheered.

"Come on," Paine said.

"Who ARE you?" Sora asked, folding his arms

"We're nothing worth mentioning," Yuna replied.

"Just three treasure fanatics," Paine added.

"Later taters!" Rikku put in as they disappeared in a flash of light, but not before Rikku sneaked in another kiss. Ash sighed in annoyance and wiped his cheek.

"Did Leon _really _have any treasure?" Sora asked. Donald began chuckling evilly and ran off.

"Donald, wait up!" Ash cried as they chased after him. As they kept running, three Dusks blocked their path.

"We don't have time for you!" Terra shouted as he destroyed them all. They kept running when a flash of light appeared before them. A figure with a long sword and ridiculously long silver hair with a wing on his back appeared and turned to face them.

"Sephiroth!" Ash gasped.

"Ah, yes..." Sephiroth drawled. "You... You look different. Didn't you have a scar or something?"

"I don't know... Did I?" Ash said mysteriously. The silver haired man narrowed his eyes.

"Ain't Sephiroth supposed to be the one who's the dark part of Cloud's heart?" Goofy asked. Sephiroth smirked.

"Did Cloud tell you that?" he questioned. "Then he must understand now."

"Just what are you gonna do to him?" Sora demanded.

"Nothing." he answered. "Cloud is the one who hungers for Darkness."

"He said he's got a score to settle with you." Sora said.

"I see..." Sephiroth muttered. "He wants to meet me again." He turned and began walking away. "Then I should give him what he wants." He raised his arms skyward. "That last bit of light is always the hardest to snuff out. I'll deal with _you _later." he said to Ash as he began rising into the air. Sora ran after him but Ash held him back.

"Don't, Sora." Ash warned. "Sephiroth is crazy strong." They all watched at Sephiroth disappeared in a flash of darkness.

"Come on!" Terra called as he rushed towards the Restoration Site. "The others need help!"

"Right!" Sora replied as they ran after him. They ran to the restoration site to see Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith fighting the Heartless and Nobodies. "We'll help!"

Aerith turned to them. "Watch out! Behind you!" They turned to see some Dancer Nobodies appearing behind them. After defeating all of them they turned to see Leon and the others running off. Leon turned to them.

"The King's in the bailey!" he shouted. "You better head over there!"

"Got it!" Sora replied. As they ran further, they saw all the damage the battle had done, the stairs were destroyed; the place was in taters and the walls leaning on each other. They spotted an opening and ran towards it.

"Whoa," Sora said, as he took in the sight before them. There were literally _thousands_ of Heartless marching towards Hollow Bastion or... Radiant Garden. They could see Yuffie, Stitch, Cloud and Leon fighting them off. Aerith was casting support magic. Yuna, Rikku and Paine were having trouble dealing with them, considering their size.

"I don't believe this..." Terra muttered.

"Leon, everybody - hang in there!" Sora shouted. They made to run to the next area but the King appeared and blocked them off.

"Okay, fellas, you've gotta go find Riku, Kairi, Aqua and Ven!" he ordered.

"But Leon and the others are our friends, too!" Sora insisted.

"Don't worry, there's already lotsa help here!" Mickey said. "We'll take care of this fight!"

"But... we promised Leon..." Sora started.

"Donald! Goofy!" Mickey exclaimed. "Take them and get goin'!"

Sora shared a look with Ash and Terra. They all nodded. "Everyone... Give us a little more time, okay?" With that the three of them ran past the King, leaving him gaping at them.

"Hey!" Donald shouted as he ran after them.

"Wait for us!" Goofy agreed. He quickly followed after his friends. Mickey quicky ran to the ledge they just jumped off of and looked down at them.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty!" Sora called as he jumped off the ledge, pulling Ash and Terra with him. Donald leaped after them.

"Hope you can forgive us!" Goofy agreed before following. The five ran and were about to join the fray when a dark portal appeared before them. Demyx stepped out. He jumped upon catching sight of them before recomposing himself.

"Hey, you guys are looking lively!" he said.

"Scram!" Donald shouted.

"Didn't we catch you messing around in the Underworld?" Sora asked. "How'd a wimp like you get into Organization XIII?" Demyx gasped. Sora smirked and crossed his arms. "I bet you can't even fight."

"Yeah, but we can!" Donald cried as he brought out his staff.

"You shouldn't judge anyone by appearance." Demyx insisted. Everyone whipped out their weapons, making him jump. He quickly turned the other way.

"Ooooh..." he muttered to himself. "I told them they sent the wrong guy... I'm no fighter and Xhäs knows that..."

Everyone lowered their weapons. "Who is this kook?" Terra asked.

"Demyx, the Melodious Nocturne. He fights by using his sitar to control the water around him." Ash told him. "They're called 'water forms'. Be careful, he can also summon powerful geysers."

"He didn't do that last time!" Sora exclaimed. Ash shrugged.

"He can't do much on his own, and his sitar barely hurts." he commented.

"Remember, the Organization is made up of Nobodies." Goofy said.

"Right!" Sora exclaimed. "No hearts!" This caught Demyx's attention.

"Oh we do too have hearts!" he insisted. "Don't be mad..."

"You can't trick us!" Donald shouted.

"You forget that I was once a Nobody." Ash reminded him. Demyx flinched. He turned away and snapped back to them, pointing a finger at both Ash and Sora.

"Silence, traitors!" he cried. Sora blinked in confusion. Demyx raised his hand and his sitar appeared in it. Everyone got into a fighting stance.

"Dance Water Dance!" Demyx shouted as he played a tune on his sitar and water clones appeared. Sora dove into Wisdom form and began spamming Fira. Ash and Terra attacked anything that got within striking distance, while grabbing the forms and swinging them around like a lasso. Donald was using all sorts of magical attacks while Goofy rammed through them all with his shield. Eventually all the forms were defeated, leaving Demyx wide open. Sora hung back, shooting at him with his Keyblade. Terra and Ash were attacking head on. Suddenly more forms appeared, but were all caught in Ash's explosion ability, destroying them the second they appeared. Now Demyx was completely defenseless and quickly fell to their attacks.

He fell to his knees, his sitar disappearing. He glanced at his hand to see it gone. "No!" he shouted as he clutched his head. He began fading into darkness. Ash looked away. Sora looked around. "Anyone from the Organization who'd like to be next?" he shouted.

"Hey Sora!" Donald scolded. "Don't antagonize them!"

"Yeah, we gotta help our friends first!" Goofy insisted. Sora rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Oh, sorry." he muttered.

"Then let's go." Terra commanded. Everyone nodded and began walking off when a voice interrupted them.

"Aha! There you are!" They turned to see a very stern Mickey approaching them. He crossed his arms. Donald and Goofy looked down. The three humans were about to explain themselves when Mickey suddenly smiled.

"You sure have lotsa friends to help." he commented. Donald and Goofy looked up. "So, I guess we better all pull together and finish this battle for good!"

Everyone stood at attention. "Yes, Your Majesty!"

Two heartless were fighting and one blasted a rock and Goofy noticed that it was heading straight for Mickey.

"Look out!" Goofy shouted, knocking Mickey out of the way and took the hit himself and that knocked him into rock wall.

"Goofy!" Ash and Sora shouted as they ran over to him.

"No.." Mickey whispered.

"Hey!" Donald shouted as he began shaking Goofy's body. "You're the King's Captin! You gotta get up!"

"C'mon, wake up!" Sora shouted desperately.

"I'm sorry about the ice cream?" Donald tried.

"Goofy?" Mickey called.

"Oh Goofy," Donald said, hugging his chest.

"No..." Terra whispered.

"This is not happening, it can't be happening, it…can't," Sora said as his face fell.

Mickey clenched his fist. "They'll pay for this..." he muttered as he threw off his Organization cloak to reveal a red jumpsuit with big yellow shoes. He summoned his Keyblade, holding it backwards before running off. Donald roared in rage before taking off behind him. Sora took one last look at Goofy before taking off after them. Terra quickly followed. Ash looked at Goofy sadly. He touched his chest before jumping. He pressed his head to Goofy's chest. There it was! A heartbeat!

"Goofy! Wake up!" Ash shouted as he casted Cure on him. It healed the bruise on Goofy's head, but he still didn't wake up. Ash frowned. Goofy suddenly let out a loud snore. Ash fell over. He stood back up, with a vein popping out of his head. "Thunder!" he shouted as he shocked him.

"Yeeeeeoooooow!" he shouted as he jumped up ten feet. He landed on his rear and looked up at Ash. "That hurt!" Ash quickly bonked him on the head with his Keyblade. "That hurt, too!"

"Don't worry us like that again," Ash growled. "Come on, Sora and the King need us!"

"A-hyuk! I love you, too, Ash!" Goofy said as he bear hugged him. Ash struggled against the dog before finally giving in.

"Fine, but we really need to get going, Goofy." Ash muttered.

"Okay, let's go!" The two ran off to find their friends. Ash summoned his armor, so not to take as much damage throughout this warzone. He ran out into the canyon and saw Yuffie on the ground, an Armored Knight standing above her. She raised her arm to shield herself. Ash quickly intervened, slashing the Heartless from behind. Yuffie looked up when she saw the blow wasn't coming. Ash lifted his visor.

"You okay?" he asked as he helped her up.

Yuffie clapped her hands together. "Of course! My knight in shining armor came to save me!" she said with hearts for eyes. Ash sweat dropped. Goofy came over.

"Here, Yuffie!" Goofy said as he tossed a potion in the air. Yuffie closed her eyes as the healing effects kicked in.

"Thanks a ton!" she said. "Sora and the others are up ahead, you better hurry!" And with that she ran back into the fray.

"Let's keep going!" Ash called. Goofy nodded and followed him. They entered the next area, only to be surrounded by Heartless. Suddenly Leon slashed his way through.

"I'll help out!" he told them. "Good to see you're safe, I got worried when I didn't see you two earlier."

"Thanks, Leon!" Goofy replied as he smashed his way through the wall of Heartless. Ash and Leon were cutting them all down and in no time, the path was clear.

"Go!" Leon shouted as he left them. Ash and Goofy surged forward and found themselves in the open once again. A Heartless appeared between them, separating them. Suddenly a black blur knocked it away.

"I'll help!" Tifa called. She kicked the Armored Knight into its brethren. As more Heartless appeared. "Glad to see you're safe, cool armor by the way."

"You too!" Ash replied as he slashed one that was about to sneak up on her. He quickly rose into the air, and stabbed them as he flew down using Rising Sun. Soon the path was clear.

"Hurry go on ahead!" Tifa shouted as she ran off. "And stay safe!"

"You too!" Goofy yelled as he and Ash ran onwards. They saw a cave ahead and ran towards it. A wall of Heartless appeared before them. Suddenly Cloud jumped from above, slaying them all. More of them appeared and the three got into stance.

"Hope you're ready, kid." Cloud muttered as he charged at them. Ash rolled his eyes and followed suit. He slashed and pivoted to no end, doing some of his tornado attacks as well. The path was clear. "We should fight sometime, kid. It'll be fun." Cloud said as he patted Ash's shoulder.

"Will do!" Ash nodded. "Tifa's looking for you by the way."

"I know..." Cloud muttered as he ran off. Ash looked at him strangely.

"C'mon, Ash!" Goofy shouted as he entered the crevice. Ash quickly followed. They ran through the cave and soon spotted Sora, Terra, Donald and Mickey looking panicked slightly. "Hey, fellas!" Everyone looked up in shock.

"Goofy!" They all shouted. The two ran up to them and Goofy rubbed his head.

"Ya know, that really hurt!" he complained. Mickey tackled him in a hug.

"Aw, Goofy!" he sighed.

"Gawrsh, Your Majesty, I get bumped on the head all the time." Goofy said. Sora laughed nervously. Donald marched up to Goofy and smacked him on the leg with his staff. The dog yelped in pain.

"That hurt, too!" Goofy complained. "Isn't enough Ash had to hit me?"

Ash suddenly felt someone grab him in a headlock. "Where were you?" Terra demanded.

"Yeah, we were worried sick!" Donald shouted. He looked ready to smack him for good measure, too.

"I stayed with Goofy." Ash explained. "I felt his pulse and casted Cure. Didn't work, but then he _snored_! So I casted Thunder. _That_ woke him up."

"Goofy..." Sora sighed. Donald chuckled.

"Couldn't have done it better myself!" he praised. Ash grinned.

"I'm glad everyone's alright, but we can't relax yet!" Mickey exclaimed. "We have to rally together for all our friends' sakes!"

"Right!" Ash nodded and the six of them exited the cave. They entered the Great Maw and found that there were heartless everywhere and they were frozen in place.

"Huh?" Mickey asked, looking around.

"What's with them?" Sora asked.

"Hey!" Goofy shouted, pointing to a cliff.

Suddenly, a portal appeared and a member of Organization XIII appeared and as he pulled down his hood, they realized who it was.

"It's the guy who's _not _Ansem," Donald shouted. Everyone sweat dropped at that.

"You mean his Nobody!" Terra corrected.

"The leader of Organization XIII..." Sora muttered.

After getting a good look at the man, Mickey said, "Wait a minute, now I know!"

_Flashback:_

_"Wise Ansem, I am here to seek your advice," Mickey said._

_"I'm glad that we have the opportunity to speak like this my friend, I'm intrigued by your hypothesis and finding it difficult to stave off the urge to test it, still I'm concerned for the stability of the worlds," Ansem the Wise said grimly._

_"Yup, that's what worries me too," Mickey replied a little sadly._

_"The doors that appeared, the place the Heartless seek. I fear my research may have brought this upon us…" Ansem said grimly as they heard a knock on the door._

_A young man with white hair and a lab coat entered the room gave a short bow and said, "Master Ansem, regarding the experiment that I presented to you the other day, with your permission I'd like to proceed."_

_"I forbid it!" Ansem shouted. "Forget this talk of doors and the heart of all worlds, that place must not be defiled," he added._

_"But Master Ansem, I've been thinking," he began but Ansem merely shook his head._

_"Xehanort…those thoughts are best forgotten," Ansem said and Xehanort sighed, gave a short bow and shut the door._

_End of Flashback_

"Xehanort?" Terra shouted.

"As in Master Xehanort?" Ash exclaimed.

"Xehanort..." Terra muttered. "He's the one who started _everything_! The Unversed, the Heartless, the Nobodies, _everything_."

"Then he has to be stopped!" Ash shouted.

"The leader of Organization XIII is Xehanort's Nobody!" Mickey said. He summoned his Keyblade and took off in Xehanort's direction.

"Let's go!" Sora shouted. Everyone nodded and were about to follow the mouse when they suddenly found themselves surrounded by Heartless. "Move it!" Sora shouted as he summoned his Keyblade. Terra and Ash did the same.

"There's too many!" Terra shouted. "Split up!" With that he took off into the crowd. Sora, Donald, Goofy and Ash did the same. Ash couldn't count how many there were. But there had to be a thousand for each of them. Ash thought they were lucky that there were only Armored Knights and Surveillance Robots, both being rather weak and fragile. Ash rose into the air, stabbing everything his Keyblades came into contact with. He then snagged a Robot, forcing it to fire at its comrades, destroying a great number of them in two moves. Ash felt his pocket tingling. He looked just in time to see Dark wink at him before attacking the nearby Heartless.

"Hey, Dark!" Ash called. "Long time no see." The two began unleashing their magical fury, ending with their Dark Burning Magic and easily devastating the Heartless troops. There were only a small group of them left and Dark retreated into her card, exhausted. Ash destroyed and glanced at his friends seeing that they were just finishing up. A few minutes later, all the Heartless were destroyed and the quintet went up a cliff and started panting heavily.

"Where's the King?" Ash asked, looking around. The others looked around.

"There he is!" Donald exclaimed, pointing over Ash's shoulder. They turned to see Mickey destroy an Armored Knight.

"C'mon!" Sora called to his friends as he surged forward.

"Your Majesty!" Donald shouted. Mickey turned to look at them and back again.

"Xehanort!" Terra shouted as he clutched his Keyblade.

"How long has it been since I abandoned that name," Xehanort commented monotonously.

"Out with it, Nobody!" Sora shouted. "Where's Kairi? Where's Riku?"

"I know nothing of any Kairi," Xehanort stated. "As for Riku..." he turned to him. "Perhaps you should ask your king?"

Sora glanced at the King. "Xemnas..." Everyone turned to Ash.

The Nobody chuckled. "So you remember me, Xhäs."

"What are you talking about?" Sora asked confused.

"Every Organization member took a new name when they were created." Ash explained. "It's an anagram of our original names with an 'X' added. Ash became Xhäs. Xehanort took Ansem's name, remember? Ansem became Xemnas." Ash turned back to Xemnas. "What are you planning?"

Xemnas chuckled. He held out his hand. "Return to us, and I will tell you, Xhäs."

"You honestly think I will?" Ash asked incredulously.

"Hmm..." Xemnas muttered. He looked Ash dead in the eye. "And to think I once called you... my friend..." he said as he began disappearing in a dark portal.

"Stop!" Mickey cried as he jumped into a portal the Xemnas just created. The others attempted to follow, only for the portal to close.

"No!" Terra shouted in frustration.

"He's gone..." Sora muttered as he fell to his knees. Goofy put a comforting hand on Sora's shoulder, while Ash attempted to calm Terra down.

Donald looked between his friends. "Sora, Goofy, Terra, Ash." he said, lost for words.

"Way to fall right into their trap," a voice called. They turned to see a red haired man standing there.

"Axel!" Ash shouted in surprise.

"Hey there, Xhäs." Axel waved. Sora, Donald, Goofy and Terra took up fight positions. Ash looked at them.

"Calm down, he's harmless." he told them.

"Harmless?" Axel repeated, offended. He took a breath. "Anyway... It's a set-up by Organization XIII. Xemnas is using you to destroy the Heartless - that's his big master plan. Got it memorized?"

"Organization XIII wants to get rid of the Heartless?" Goofy asked.

Axel shook his head. "Man, you're slow." he pointed at their Keyblades. "Every Heartless slain with the Keyblade releases a captive heart. That is what the Organization is after."

"So what are those guys gonna do with the hearts?" Donald asked.

"I'm not telling." Axel said.

"Tell us!" Donald demanded.

"You... you're the one who kidnapped Kairi!" Sora exclaimed.

"Bingo!" Axel said. "The name's Axel, got it memorized?"

"Where did you take her, Lea?" Ash demanded. Axel bristled at the use of his real name.

"Please!" Sora begged. "Just tell me!"

Axel sighed and looked skyward. "Look..." he muttered. "About Kairi... I'm sorry." he said, looking back at them.

"Axel!" A new voice broke in. A portal opened and Saïx appeared before them.

"Uh oh!" Axel gasped as he disappeared in another portal. Sora was about to chase after him, but Saïx stopped him.

"We'll be sure he receives the maximum punishment." He assured them.

"I don't care about any of that!" Sora cried. "Just let me into the Realm of Darkness, okay?"

Saïx was silent for a moment. "If it's Kairi you're worried about, don't." he said. "We're taking very good care of her."

"Take me to her!" Sora demanded.

"Is she that important to you?" Saïx asked.

"Yeah," Sora nodded. "more than anything."

"Show me how important." Saïx demanded. Sora looked down before getting on his knees.

"Please..." Sora whispered.

"Sora!" Terra cried.

"Sora, get up!" Ash shouted. "You think he really cares what you want? I know him! He just wants to play with your emotions!"

Saïx glared at him. Ash glared right back. Saïx turned back to Sora. "So, you really do care for her. In that case-" he said smirking. "The answer's no."

Sora looked up in shock before leaping back. "You rotten...!"

"I told you..." Ash growled as he summoned his Keyblades.

"Are you angry?" Saïx asked. "Do you hate me? Then take that rage and direct it at the Heartless." He snapped his fingers and four Armored Knights appeared behind him. Everyone got into fighting stances. Saïx looked skyward. "Pitiful Heartless, mindlessly consuming hearts. And yet, they know not the true power of what they hold. The rage of the Keyblade releases those hearts. They gather in darkness, masterless and free... until they weave together to make Kingdom Hearts! And when that time comes, we can truly, finally exist."

"Kingdom Hearts..." Terra muttered.

"What in the world do you think you're prattling on about?" Maleficent's voice echoed through the canyon. They turned to see Maleficent appearing in a burst of green fire.

"Kingdom Hearts belongs to me! The heart of all kingdoms, the heart of all that lives, any dominion fit to be called Kingdom Hearts must be my dominion!" she declared.

"Maleficent no, no more Heartless!" Sora shouted..

"I do not take orders from you!" she spat as more Heartless appeared.

"Idiot!" Ash exclaimed. Maleficent snarled at him.

"Fool…" Saix said as he snapped his fingers and summoned some Nobodies that quickly defeated Maleficent's Heartless.

"Oh no!" Sora cried as they turned to face him and saw Maleficent in front as she used her powers to block the group off.

"While I keep these creatures at bay, you find a way to vanquish them—forever!" Maleficent shouted.

"Maleficent..." Terra muttered as the Nobodies attacked her.

"Do not misunderstand me, I shall have my revenge on you yet," she said as more Nobodies assaulted her.

"Of course..." Ash sighed.

"Maleficent!" Sora shouted.

"Leave! Now!" she shouted.

"I don't take orders from you!" Sora shouted.

"Sora, c'mon!" Donald said, grabbing his arm.

"But…what about…?" Sora began but his voice trailed off as the wall between them faded away.

"Now then, where did we leave off?" Saïx asked as the Nobodies disappeared and Heartless reappeared in their place.

"Which side are you guys on anyway?" Sora demanded.

"The Heartless ally with whoever is the strongest," Saïx replied ordering them to attack. Sora destroyed them. "Yes, Sora, extract more hearts," Saïx said as he disappeared into a portal.

"No…the hearts!" Ash said, looking up at the hearts that had just been released as they blocked more Heartless attacks.

"Maybe everything we've done…maybe it was all for nothing. What are we supposed to do if we can't use our Keyblades!" Sora asked hopeless.

"Imbeciles, you can't be trusted to do anything!" Maleficent's voice said contemptuously as the group fell through a portal.

"Huh?" Sora gasped as they fell.

* * *

Leon and Cloud were overlooking the canyon. They had done it, but they couldn't have done it without Sora and the the others. Suddenly the Villain's Vale began glowing with a blinding light.

"Sora, Donald, Goofy, Ash, Terra!" Leon shouted.

"Relax." Cloud muttered. Leon looked at him. "Those five aren't goin' down that easy." Cloud turned and began walking back to town. "The Keyblade's chosen ones... they're lucky kids."

Leon turned back to see a beam of light radiating from the castle. "See you soon." he whispered.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry I didn't update yesterday. Demyx wasn't being cooperative...**


	25. Ventus

**A/N: Finally! A new world! But not one any of you were expecting! I think all of the new worlds will be a little weak compared to the canon worlds. Hopefully you guys know SOMETHING about the world I'm using. If not, then its a sad, sad day indeed... JK, go Nintendo!**

**

* * *

**

Ash groaned as he opened his eyes. He looked around to see nothing but darkness. "What's this place?" he heard Goofy ask. He stood and turned around to face them.

"It must be the Realm of Darkness!" Sora exclaimed. "Kairi! Riku!"

"Aqua!" Ash and Terra joined in with his calls. Donald turned around and quacked in surprise. There stood a man in an Organization cloak. He was holding a box of some kind.

"Who's there?" Donald demanded. He charged but the man disappeared, leaving his package behind. The others approached him. "What's this?" he asked as he picked up the box.

"Are you sure you wanna open..." Goofy began, but Donald had already opened it. "...that?" Donald took out a picture and handed it to Sora. Everyone looked over his shoulder. "Gawrsh that's the gang from Twilight Town. There's Hayner, Pence, Olette... and..."

"Ven?" Terra exclaimed. Sora shook his head.

"...Roxas..." he muttered.

"You know him?" Donald asked.

"No..." Sora said in a daze. "The name just popped into my head. This is Roxas."

"He looks too much like Ven to be a coincidence..." Terra muttered. Ash didn't say anything. He was thinking. '_Something's gonna happen... I have to do something..._'

Donald looked at the ice cream that was also in the box. He opened his mouth and Goofy said. "Are you sure you wanna eat..." Donald took a bite. "...that...?" Donald jumped and looked at the ice cream in betrayal.

"Salty?" he asked incredulously. His eyes widened. "No... sweat!"

"Sea Salt ice cream..." Ash muttered. Suddenly the ice cream began glowing a familiar color and started floating. Sora, Terra, and Ash stared at it before their Keyblades appeared in their hands. They pointed at the ice cream. Ash's eyes widened as he had a strange impulse. '_This is it... I can't stop us from leaving, but maybe I can manipulate our destination?_'

"Take us to my destiny..." Ash muttered. Everyone looked at him in confusion. "Take us to Castle Oblivion!" As though in response, the Keyhole began glowing a brighter gold and they were consumed in its light.

* * *

Ash stared at the familiar sight before them. The others looked shocked. "What is this place?" Sora asked. "It kinda looks... familiar... but..."

"This is Castle Oblivion." Ash explained. "Formerly known as the Land of Departure." Terra's eyes widened as he stared at the Castle that used to be his home.

"But how...?" he whispered.

"Aqua." Ash answered as he made his way to the castle. "She changed the world's appearance to throw off invaders. Only she knows its true layout."

"What are we doing here?" Sora asked as they followed the boy.

"We're here to get something..." Ash explained. "or rather, some_one_."

"Ven...?" Terra asked. Ash nodded. They reached the entrance and Ash pushed the door open. He could feel the castle welcoming him as one of its masters.

"Aqua inherited this world from Master Eraqus after she became a Master." Ash told them. "And now, I inherit it from her." Ash closed his eyes and began focusing. He heard the others gasp and opened his eyes. Before them, a shimmering Keyhole appeared above the doorway into the next chamber. He walked up to it, raising his Keyblade. The Keyhole glowed brighter in response. The tip of his Keyblade glowed deep red. Ash pulled Oathkeeper backwards and thrust it forward. A beam of light erupted from the tip, entering the Keyhole. He felt the power pushing against him, testing his willpower. Ash grit his teeth and slowly turned the Keyblade in a clockwise fashion, as though he were unlocking something. Everyone covered their eyes as their surroundings were engulfed in a bright light.

Ash opened his eyes and found himself behind a throne. Everyone looked around in awe. Everything had changed. Before, everything was pure white. Now everything was a mixture of white, blue and gold. "It looks exactly like it did before..." Terra commented.

"Yeah," Ash nodded. "That's what I asked the castle to do. Now..." he stepped in front of the throne and looked down at the comatose boy sitting in it. Terra followed and gasped.

"Ven!" he cried as he rushed over to him. "Ven!" He began shaking the boy. The others came over and stared at the boy.

"Isn't he the one from the picture?" Goofy asked. Ash shook his head.

"This is Ventus." he told them.

"It's you..." Sora whispered. Everyone looked at him. "I remember... a long time ago, you asked me if we could combine our hearts..."

"Sora?" Donald asked confused.

Sora smiled. "I guess it's time I give back then...?" Suddenly, Sora began glowing. A blonde boy, who look exactly like Ventus stepped out of him, shocking them all.

"I understand now..." the boy muttered. "Why I couldn't fully fuse with Sora... It's because I'm carrying half of Sora's heart, and _all_ of _yours_..."

"Roxas..." Ash said.

"I understand now." Roxas repeated. He turned to Ash. "Ash, you know what to do, right?"

Ash nodded and twirled his Keyblade and pointed it at Roxas. The blonde boy closed his eyes and took a deep breath. A beam of light shot from the tip as the lucky charms Terra, Ash and Ventus had began glowing their respective colors. Red for Ash. Yellow for Terra. Green for Ven. The beam went through Roxas' chest as he began glowing gold. "Thanks, Ash." Roxas whispered before he disappeared in a flash of light. From him emerged two hearts. One of the hearts flew into Sora, the other flew into Ventus. Both boys glowed gold and Sora closed his eyes. He opened them again and smiled lightly.

Everyone turned to the boy sitting on the throne. He groaned as he blinked his eyes open. "What... happened?"

"Ven!" Terra shouted as he hugged the boy.

"Terra?" Ven asked in a dazed voice.

"Ven, you're safe..." Terra muttered. Everyone smiled at the reunion.

"Stop, Terra, you're embarrassing me!" Ven shouted. Everyone laughed at him. "Stop!"

"Alright, alright!" Terra laughed. Ven huffed and turned to the group.

"Thank you, Ash." he said gratefully. Ash waved it off.

"No problem." he replied. "Are you two gonna stay here?"

"No way." they answered at once.

"We still have to find Aqua." Terra explained. Sora nodded.

"Alright," he said cheerfully. "The more the merrier!

"You said it!" Ven agreed. They grinned at each other.

"Oh no, those two together?" Terra moaned.

"Someone kill us now..." Ash agreed jokingly.

"So, how're we gonna get out of here?" Goofy asked. His question was answered by the sound of the Gummi Ship's engine roaring outside.

"Funny how fate works out." Sora laughed as he ran outside, the other quickly following. Ash stopped at the entrance and turned to a couple suits of armor.

"Guard the castle!" he ordered. The armor saluted him. He nodded and turned to see his friends staring at him. "I got the idea from Beast's Castle." he shrugged. "It seemed pretty cool."

"Sure does!" Ven agreed as he watched more suits of armor begin patrolling the halls.

"Let's go," Terra said. The others nodded as the Gummi Ship beamed them up.

* * *

*****Ventus Joins the Party*****

* * *

"Cool!" Ven exclaimed as he began examining everything in the Gummi Ship. Terra chuckled as he watched Ven's eyes gleam like a child in a candy store.

"I guess sometimes, help can come from unexpected places," Sora said as he took the controls.

"Sure does," Donald agreed.

"A photo and some ice cream..." Goofy thought out loud. "Hmmm. Wonder if they're some sorta clue? And who woulda left 'em for us, anyway?"

"Riku?" Sora wondered.

"You think?" Ash asked.

"Just... this feeling I've got..." Sora muttered. "Hey, what if the Heartless are back again? We can't use the Keyblades - that would only help the Organization." Sora asked.

"But Sora, I think ya have to use 'em. If we don't fight 'em, the Heartless'll keep on hurtin' folks." Goofy reasoned.

Sora sighed. "You're right."

"Hey, what's this do?" Ven's voice broke into their conversation. They turned to see him leaning over a large button.

"Don't touch that!" Donald cried. Too late, Ven had already pressed it. The ship suddenly lurched and shot forward.

"Ven!" Terra shouted.

"I'm sorry!" Ven shouted back. Everyone screamed as they were launched into a nearby world.

* * *

Ash groaned as he opened his eyes. He looked around to see nothing but sand for a few miles. An oasis could be see fairly close by. He looked behind him to see his friends starting to get up.

"Ven..." Terra growled.

"I said I was sorry!" Ven sighed.

"It's fine," Sora waved it off. "at least no one was hurt."

"Yeah," Goofy agreed.

"Just don't do it again!" Donald exclaimed.

Ven looked down. "I won't..." Ash looked behind them to see a temple of sorts. It had a large female statue with both hands raised. He looked down to see they were standing on a stone platform. The design on the platform was of three triangles making up one larger triangle.

"Where are we?" Sora asked.

"I don't know," Ash replied. "But it can't hurt to check it out." With that Ash began walking towards the temple. They got closer to the temple they saw a green clad man surrounded by a group of Shadow Heartless. "He needs help!"

"But, if we use our Keyblades, we'll only help the Organization." Sora reminded him.

"We really don't have a choice, Sora." Terra sighed as he ran to help the man.

"Need some help?" Ven asked as they joined the man. They summoned their weapons, Ash caught a glimpse of the man's weapons. He carried a royal blue shield with silver trims. It had the same triangle symbol, only gold. And there was a strange crest on it that reminded him of a bird. He also wielded a longsword with a purple hilt and guard. The man fought with absolutely no fear on his face. He was mainly a physical fighter, but sometimes he pulled out other weapons out of nowhere. Some of them were powered by magic, like his bow and arrow, which would glow blue and freeze enemies on contact. Ash turned his attention to Ven. He saw the Ven held his Keyblade backwards, and relied on his speed to pull him through. Soon the battle was over and the sextet and the man regrouped.

Ash took a closer look at the man. He had golden blonde hair, which was hidden under a strange green cap. He wore a forest green tunic and white pants. He had on brown boots and gloves with silver embedded in them. Ash noticed that he man had pointed ears.

"Thank you," the man said gratefully. "I've never seen those creatures like that and neither has Navi."

"Navi?" Ash asked. As if in response, a glowing ball of light with wings flew out of the man's green cap. "Whoa..." he gasped.

"Navi is my fairy guardian." the man answered. "And I am Link of Hyrule."

"Hyrule?" Ven questioned.

"I think that's the world we're on." Terra whispered.

"I'm Sora," Sora introduced. "And this is Donald and Goofy."

"My name's Ash," Ash said. "And this is Terra and Ventus."

"Ven for short!" Ven added. Link nodded.

"Nice to meet you all." he said politely. "But, what were those things?"

"They're called the Heartless, beings who consume people's hearts." Sora answered.

"So, uh, Link?" Sora began. "What were you doing out here?"

"Oh, well." Link began, "I'm not sure you would believe me."

"I think we'd believe anything you say..." Terra muttered.

"Very well then, why don't you all sit down, it's a very long story." Link suggested. They shrugged and sat in the shade under one of the temple arches. "Long ago, the three goddesses: Din, Nayru, and Farore, created the land of Hyrule. Din created the earth itself. Nayru created the laws in which all beings must obey. Farore created the life the inhabits the earth. The three great goddesses returned to the heavens, leaving behind the sacred Triforce. The Triforce is said to give one ultimate power. The Royal Family is tasked with guarding the legend of the Triforce. But one man, Ganondorf, knows the legend himself and wishes to use it to rule the world."

"So this Ganondorf guy wants to find the Triforce?" Sora assumed. Link shook his head.

"He already has." Link said solemnly.

"What?" Everyone shouted.

"Unfortunately, do to the actions of myself and the Princess Zelda, Ganondorf was able to enter the Sacred Realm and claim the Triforce." Link explained. "Fortunately, due do his hearts imbalance, he was only able to claim a part of the Triforce. He took the Triforce of Power, because it suited him best. This Triforce piece was all he needed to take over Hyrule and rule it with an iron fist. He murdered the king and forced Princess Zelda into hiding."

"That's horrible!" Donald shouted.

"And since it was my fault that all of this happened, I must set it right." Link told them. "I have journeyed throughout the other five temples and awakened the Sages of Light, Forest, Fire, Water, and Shadow. Now all that remains is the Sage of Spirit. With their aid I will be able to take down the Dark King."

"We'll help you!" Terra offered.

"It will be extremely dangerous." Link warned.

"I'm sure we've faced worse stuff." Sora waved it off.

"Then I thank you," Link smiled gratefully. "It will be nice to have friends back me up. I've been fighting alone this entire time..."

"Well not anymore." Ash promised. He looked around to discover that it was dark out. "Night already?"

"Not a problem." Link assured them. He took out a little blue instrument and began playing a lively tune. Suddenly the saw the clouds passing by faster and the sun began rising!

"What was that?" Ven asked in awe. Link gave them a closer look at the instrument.

"It's call the Ocarina of Time." Link explained. "It's a magical instrument with many powers. The song I played was the Sun Song, it skips to evening or dawn. The Ocarina was given to me by Princess Zelda."

"It must be important to you." Ash said with a smile.

"It is." Link said smiling. "We'd better hurry."

"So Link, you said that you were the one that allowed Ganondorf to get the Triforce," Ash began. "what exactly did you do?"

Link sighed. "The Princess and I were young and foolish at the time. We believed we would stop Ganondorf by getting the Triforce first. We opened the Door of Time and I drew the Master Sword." He showed them the sword that he now wielded. "But the Master Sword was the only thing keeping Gannon from the Sacred Realm, and when I drew it, he was able to enter with no difficulties."

"How was the Master Sword able to keep him away?" Goofy asked.

"The Master Sword is know as the Sword of Evil's Bane." Link explained. "It is a weapon of pure light, and can repel darkness."

"Whoa..." Everyone looked at the blade in awe. The group of seven walked through the archway into the temple to see a stairway before them. They stepped towards it, only for two pots to rise from the ground and fly towards them.

"What he...?" Ash gasped. Link quickly raised his shield, making the pots shatter against it.

"One of the temple's defenses." Link explained. He ran up the stairs, the others following. When they reached the top, they found two statues sitting in the center of the room. "Stay away from those."

"Why?" Ven asked curiously. Navi flew out of Link's cap.

"Cause they'll come to life and attack you!" she answered in a slightly high pitched voice.

"Like those statues at Beast's Castle." Ash noted. Suddenly a platform descended from the floor above them. "What the?"

"I've been here before." Link told them, "I had to do this temple in two separate parts." He stepped onto the platform, the others following. He platform began to rise back up to the next floor. They were now in a tunnel of sorts. Link pulled out a map. "I have the temple map, so we should be able to get through here no problem."

"Good," Sora sighed. They followed the green clad Hylian until they got to a strange room. Ash looked around. One of the walls were constantly sliding around. On either side of the wall, spikes were set up.

"Those look painful." Terra commented. Each part of the wall slid would slide into the spikes, then return to form one long path. "Wait, we have to climb up?"

"But those spikes will skewer us!" Ven argued.

"True..." Link muttered. He pulled out a back and reached into it. He pulled out a strange device with a hook on it.

"What is that?" Sora asked.

"It's the Hookshot, it allows me to grapple onto things. Watch." He pointed the Hookshot at the top of the wall, where it wasn't moving. He pressed a button and launched the hook straight at the wall. The moment it made contact with the wall, Link was pulled forward, into the wall. He grabbed onto the ledge and pulled himself up. "Your turn!" he called as he tossed the Hookshot down to Ash. "Just point and fire!"

Ash blinked as he caught the item. He took the handle and pointed it at the ledge and pressed the button. He was suddenly lurched forward as it began pulling him towards the wall. He grabbed the ledge and Link helped him up. "Whoa..." he muttered. Link took the item from him.

"Me next!" Sora shouted excitedly.

"I'm after!" Ven added. Link chuckled and tossed the weapon down to them. After everyone had made it up (With Ven asking if he could go again) they moved on. They followed the elf and watched as he solved puzzle after puzzle.

"Thank Arceus for Link..." Ash muttered.

"Yeah, I'm definitely no good with puzzles." Sora commented. Link would use a different shield, one that reflected light, to send beams of sunlight into a strange symbol. This would usually cause something to happen, such as removing the bars from doors, or creating something.

"This place is teeming with magic..." Donald muttered. "Everything here revolves around it." Eventually they stepped onto an elevator-like things, and were lowered into another room. Ash looked down and jumped back. It was a _very _long drop.

"That's it!" Link exclaimed as he pointed at a statue of a snake's head. "See under the head?"

Ash took a look. "It looks like you can grapple onto it."

Link nodded. "Exactly." He pulled out his Hookshot. "Everyone grab onto me." They all took a hold of him and he fired his device, sending them flying towards the serphant's head. They landed on another platform and watched as the wall rose, revealing a door, it was locked, however. "No... we need a key..." Link sighed.

"A key, huh?" Sora asked as he summoned his Keyblade.

"Will that open it?" Link questioned.

"You bet." Ven nodded as Sora unlocked the door.

"Alright, be careful." Link warned as he drew his sword and shield. They entered the room and saw two figures haunched over, turned away from them.

"Ho ho ho!" one of them cackled, sending chills down their spines. "Looks like someone's here, Koume."

"Hee hee hee!" the other giggled. "Looks like it, Kotake!" They both turned to reveal they were both old women. They cackled as they began floating.

"What outrageous people they are to intrude so boldly into our Temple..." Kotake muttered.

"We should teach these people a lesson, hee hee hee!" Koume cackled. Everyone raised their weapons in preparation. The two witches turned towards a suit of armor. "Oh, loyal minion..."

"Destroy these intruders on our behalf!" Kotake finished with a cackle. They then disappeared in a flash of flames. Suddenly the armor stood and roared before pausing. It looked at its hands in confusion before snapping its fingers. An axe appeared in its hands. The armor coughed and resumed its roar. Slowly, very slowly, the armor began approaching them.

"Um..." Ash began. Navi flew up to the creature, and started glowing yellow.

"This is an Iron Knuckle, they're slow, but they pack a big punch!" she explained. "This one seems kinda off though..."

"Alright then, just keep moving, and strike quickly!" Terra commanded. He rushed forward, leaping over the Iron Knuckle's attack and struck it in the face with his Keyblade. Ven rushed behind it, slashing its back. The Iron Knuckle attempted to swipe him away, but he easily dodged the creature. This left it wide open, Link took a running leap and slashed straight down the middle. The knuckle froze before its helmet fell off. Slowly all of its armor fell off, one by one. There stood a tanned woman with fiery red hair in an outfit much like Jasmine wore, only white. She looked around dazed before collapsing to her knees.

"Unnnh..." she grunted. "Where... am I?"

"Nabooru?" Link exclaimed.

"Link?" she asked dazed. Suddenly Kotake appeared behind her. Nabooru yelped in surprise.

"Well, well..." Kotake mumbled. "looks like she's back to normal, Koume..."

Koume appeared on the other side of Nabooru. "She's just a little girl, but she commands a lot of respect among the Gerudo, Kotake."

"Maybe we should force her to work for the great Ganondorf for a little while longer!" Kotake cackled.

"Then we should brainwash her again!" Koume laughed. They raised their hands, which began glowing.

"Nabooru, run!" Link shouted. She attempted to do so, but the beams of light struck her anyway. She disappeared with a scream. "Nabooru!"

The two witches cackled once more before disappearing again. "What happened to her?" Ash asked.

Link shook his head. "I don't know," he admitted. "But come on! We have to find them!" He took off and entered a door on the other side of the room. The others quickly followed.

* * *

The group of seven entered a room with five platforms. One was larger than the others, which surrounded the large one. They climbed and the witchs' voices echoed throughout the room.

"Look at thsoe stupid kids!" Kotake exclaimed. "They came to offer themselves as a sacrifice to the great Ganondorf..."

Koume appeared in a ring of fire. "With my flame, I will burn them to the bone!"

Kotake appeared in a ring of frost. "With my frost, I will freeze them to their souls!" The two sisters began circling them.

"Hey this reminds me of somethin'..." Goofy muttered.

"The Blizzard Lord and Volcanic Lord!" Sora exclaimed.

"That's it then, send their attacks right back at them!" Terra ordered.

"And I know just what to use!" Link exclaimed as he pulled out his Mirror Shield.

"They're flying too high to use our weapons!" Ven noted.

"Then use magic!" Ash replied as he sent a Blizzard at Koume. Kotake retaliated by sending one of her Blizzards at him, but Link jumped in the way, absorbing the attack with his shield. He pointed the shield at Koume and released the Blizzard at her. This continued back and forth until the two witches began circling each other.

"Okay, let's get serious now, Kotake!" Koume shouted.

"Okay..." Kotake whispered. The two rammed into each other and began forming one entity.

"Kotake and Koume's Double Dynamite Attack!" the two witches shouted in unison. The two stopped revolving and turned to face them. They had become a single young woman with hair that was half fire, half frost.

"Okay, did they just get about 400 years younger?" Ash asked.

"Looks like it..." Terra muttered. She suddenly sent three Blizzards at them, Link absorbed them all, sending them back as one extremely powerful attack. The new enemy, Twinrova, fell to the ground in a daze.

"Now's our chance!" Link shouted as he began attacking her. The sextet followed suit. Twinrova looked as though she was about to escape when Link's sword began glowing blue. It then glowed orange and he let loose a tornado spin attack. She yelled in pain and suddenly defused. The two sisters stood there, looking exhausted.

"Shoot, what fresh kids!" Koume exclaimed as a halo appeared above her head. "This time, we'll get serious, right, Kotake?" it appeared she didn't notice she was floating into a beam of light. "What?"

"Hey, Koume," Kotake began. "what is that above your head?" Koume glanced up then back at Kotake.

"I don't know," she replied, confused. "but you have one over your head too, Kotake!"

They both looked up to see they were approaching 'the light'. "But I'm only 400 years old!" Koume shouted.

"And I'm just 380 years old!" Kotake exclaimed. Koume turned to her irritated.

"We're twins!" she snarled. "Don't try to lie about your age!" Everyone sweat dropped as they watched this going on.

"You must have gone senile!" Kotake scoffed.

"Who are you calling senile?" Koume growled. "Is that how you treat your older sister?"

"We're twins!" Kotake shouted. "How can you be older!"

"Keeeyaaaah!" Koume growled. "How heartless you are! How can you be so ungrateful?"

"_You're _heartless, not me!"

"You ungrateful..." They turned to the seven of them as they entered the light.

"I'll come back to haunt you~!" they shouted in unison.

"Well that was..." Ash began.

"Odd..." Sora finished. Suddenly they were enveloped in a bright blue light.

"What's happening?" Ven exclaimed.

"Relax, this is normal." Link said calmly as they were teleported away.

* * *

They arrived on a blue central platform with six symbols of different colors. Green for Forest, red for Fire, blue for Water, orange for Spirit, purple for Shadow, and yellow for Light. It was surrounded by a deep abyss, which was in turn surrounded by walls of cascading blue light

"The Chamber of the Sages." Link told them. Suddenly the symbol of Spirit began glowing and Nabooru appeared before them.

"Kid, let me thank you." she began. "Heheheh... look what the little kid has become in the last seven year - a competent swordsman." she complimented Link. "By the way... I really messed up... I was brainwashed by those old witches and used by Ganondorf to do his evil will... But isn't it funny? That a person like me could turn out to be the Sage of Spirit! They're gonna pay for what they did to me. Kid... No, Link, the Hero of Time! Instead of keeping the promise I made way back then, I'll give you this Medallion." she raised her arms and an orange Medallion appeared in Link's hand.

"Thanks Nabooru." Link said gratefully. Nabooru nodded and turned to the others, a frown on her face.

"You guys..." she began. "are a different story." Suddenly the other symbols began glowing and five other people appeared. "Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful that you help out..."

The Sage of Light took over speaking. "But you do not belong in this world. Not now,"

The Sage of Shadow spoke up. "This quest is something that only Link can accomplish. You would only be hindrances."

Ash was slightly offended by that. "Hindrances?"

"What she _means_ is," The Sage of Forest began, glaring at the Shadow Sage. "Link must do this alone."

"It is his destiny." the Sage of Fire said. "Believe me, we're all grateful for your help."

"But we must ask you to leave us," the Sage of Water asked. "until the Dark King is no more."

"But...!" Sora began.

"No, Sora..." Link sighed. "They're right, I have to do this alone."

"Link..." Ash began.

"Thank you for your help, my friends." Link smiled. He reached into his bag once more and pulled out a charm with a fairy on it. "A token of my appreciation." He tossed the charm to Ven.

"Give me a call whenever you need a fairy's guidance!" Navi squeaked.

Sora looked at the charm, then back at Link. "Will do," he nodded. "and we'll come back to visit after Ganondorf's been defeated."

"I'll look forward to it." Link said smiling.

"Now," the Sage of Light began. "we shall return you to your rightful place!" He raised his arms, the other sages doing the same. The room flashed a bright gold. Everyone covered their eyes as they were engulfed in its light.

* * *

Ash blinked as he suddenly found himself in the Gummi Ship once more. He looked around to see his friends glancing around as well.

"Link..." Sora whispered. "I hope he'll be okay..."

"He'll be fine," Terra assured him. "He's the 'Hero of Time' after all."

"I guess your right," Sora said as they watched a force field appear around Hyrule.

"We won't be able to visit for a while." Ven noted.

"Yeah," Terra muttered. "Now sit down, and don't touch anything!"

"I know, I know!" Ven sighed as Sora piloted the Gummi Ship to the next world.

* * *

**A/N: You guys BETTER know what game that was! Anyway, another chapter down. Looks like Ven got a new summon! Navi is mainly a support summon. She'll cast spells such as Reflect and Cure, she'll revive you if you die, but she'll disappear afterwards.**

**The Keyblades the characters use will not change throughout the story. Mainly for convenience. **

**Sora - Kingdom Key**

**Ash - Oathkeeper/Oblivion**

**Terra - Earth Shaker**

**Ventus - Fresh Breeze**

**Aqua - Eraqus' Keyblade **

**Riku - Way to the Dawn**

**Mickey - Kingdom Key D**


	26. The Land of Dragons

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this out. I found this LOZ story and I got hooked.**

**Chapter 26 of Pokemon: Keyblade Masters**

**

* * *

**

"Ash?" Sora asked.

"Yeah?" Ash replied.

"You called that guy Roxas..." he began. "just who was he?"

"Well, the way I see things..." Ash said thoughtfully. "Roxas is your Nobody."

"What?" Sora gasped. "But I've never been turned into a Heart... Oh, right..."

"At Hollow Bastion, remember?" Donald reminded him. Sora nodded.

"So, what happened to him?" he asked.

"I think that half of him went to you, while the other half went to Ven." Terra reasoned. Sora looked at Ven who was staring out the window.

"They look exactly alike," Sora commented.

"Probably because you and he shared a heart," Ash suggested.

"So was Roxas in the Organization?" Goofy inquired.

"Most likely," Terra nodded. "I mean, just look at his name."

Ash crossed his arms and thought about it. "It's Sora, with an 'X' added." he muttered. "He must have been No. XIII after Xhäs."

"Sora, do you remember any one his memories?" Terra questioned. Sora shook his head.

"No." he answered glumly.

"Maybe they'll come to you later," Ash suggested. Sora shrugged.

"Hey, look!" Goofy exclaimed as he pointed out the window.

"It's the Land of Dragons!" Ash noted. Terra and Ven looked at him.

"Land of Dragons?" Ven questioned. He quickly became excited. "We'll get to see dragons?"

"If by 'dragon' you mean six inches tall," Sora said chuckling. "then sure."

Ven looked slightly disappointed, but not completely. "Well let's go!" he exclaimed. "I love exploring!"

Terra rolled his eyes. "You love _everything_, Ven."

Ven turned to him scowling. "I do not!" he denied. "I don't like broccoli, spinach, Justin Bieber..." he trailed off as he saw everyone staring at him. "What?"

"Ooookaaay..." Sora muttered as he piloted towards the Land of the Dragons. "Let's just go see how Mulan's doing."

"Agreed." Ash said as the Gummi Ship landed.

* * *

The sextet landed in the mountains, within the burnt down village. "Whoa," Ven exclaimed. "what happened here?"

"This evil guy, Shan-Yu, burnt it down." Sora explained.

"I wonder how everybody's doin'?" Goofy thought out loud. Suddenly Donald stopped and squinted his eyes.

"Look!" he shouted, pointing in front of them. Everyone did so and saw a man in a black coat standing at the entrance to the village.

"An Organization member?" Terra asked.

"Wait!" Sora shouted as the man took off. He was about to chase after him when a voice interrupted them.

"Sora!" Mulan called. Everyone turned to see her run up to them. She put her hands on her knees as she caught her breath.

"Mulan, hey." Sora greeted. "No time to talk, we gotta catch that guy!"

She stood up straight and narrowed her eyes. "I'm following him too." Mulan told them, looking at the mountains.

"Then let's go!" Donald exclaimed. Mulan nodded, then noticed the two she hadn't seen before.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she apologized. "I'm Mulan, and you are?"

"I'm Ven," the blonde boy said cheerfully. "And Mister Serious over there is Terra."

Terra scowled at Ven, which the blonde ignored. Terra turned back to Mulan. "Anyway, we better go."

"Right." Mulan agreed. With that said the seven of them began their trek up the mountain.

* * *

They made it to the ridge within a few minutes. Sora glanced around. "There he is!" Ash cried. They all turned to see the man dash to the summit and gave chase. At the summit they found the man nowhere in sight.

"Looks like he got away..." Mulan sighed.

"How come _you're_ after someone from the Organization?" Goofy asked.

"What's that?" Mulan asked confused.

"The guy in black." Ven offered. They had explained to him everything that had happened so far.

"One of the bad guys!" Donald exclaimed.

Mulan shook her head. "I knew it..." she muttered. "There's a rumor in the Imperial City about a spy in black, lurking in the mountains. I've been up here tracking him, but when you arrived I lost him."

"Oh," Sora muttered.

"Sorry about that." Ash sighed. Mulan smiled at them.

"Don't apologize," she insisted. "but I do wonder what he went." Suddenly they all heard a familiar buzzing noise as a group of Rapid Thrusters appeared on the summit.

"Again?" Donald sighed.

"Déjà vu." Ash agreed as he summoned his Keyblades. They others followed suit, pulling out their weapons.

"Okay," Sora began. "first things first!" They charged to meet the Heartless head-on. Sora suddenly stopped, prompting Ash to do the same.

"Sora...?" he questioned. Sora look behind them, Ash followed his example and saw the same black cloaked man behind them.

"Hey!" Sora exclaimed, pointing his Keyblade at the man. "Quit sneaking around!" The man pointed behind them. Sora blinked in confusion before turning. His eyes widened and he smacked away a Rapid Thruster that was about to attack them. They turned back to the man, just in time to see him summon a strange weapon. It looked slightly like...

"Is that a Keyblade?" Ash whispered.

"I don't know," Sora shook his head. "looks like it though." The man suddenly charged at them. The two jumped aside, the man slashed downward, destroying a couple of Heartless.

"Wait..." Ash began. "is he... helping us?" They watched as the man continued to slay Heartless.

"I don't know," Sora sighed. "but we gotta help." The two stood and attempted to help the man. He turned to them and attacked.

"Dude, whose side are you on?" Ash exclaimed as he jumped back. The man continued slaying Heartless.

"I'm confused..." Sora muttered. The battle went on, with the man alternating from attacking the Heartless to attacking _them_. Eventually the Heartless were slain and the two of them turned towards the man. The man made a gesture and took off. Sora and Ash made to follow, but he disappeared. "That guy..." Sora mumbled. "No... why... would he?"

"Sora?" Ash asked.

"Riku...?" Sora whispered. The others walked over to them.

"I saw you fighting that guy," Terra said. "who was he?"

"I don't know," Ash replied. "Sora said something about Riku."

Donald walked up to the boy. "Are you okay, Sora?"

"Did ya get him?" Goofy questioned. Sora grunted.

"He's gone..." he answered.

"What?" Donald quacked. "You lost him?"

Mulan looked slightly disappointed. Sora sighed. "Anyway... what now?"

"I think we better get rid of all the Heartless first." Goofy suggested. Donald nodded in agreement as he looked around for any sign of them. Suddenly the mountains began shaking, nearly knocking them all off their feet.

"What was that?" Mulan gasped. She looked around nervously. "Come on, we better get off the mountain."

"Yeah, don't want another avalanche." Ash agreed. Sora nodded and lingered for a moment as the others went on. He turned back to the mountain before jogging to catch up to his friends. They felt the mountain shake again, but this time it was accompanied by a blast of snow. From the snow emerged a gigantic Heartless. It let out a roar, making the them all whip out their weapons. It ignored them and flew straight towards the city!

"It's heading for the city!" Mulan cried. "We've got to warn Shang!" The others nodded and took off down the mountain.

* * *

The seven made it to the Imperial Square with little difficulties. "Huh?" Goofy asked confused. "Everything's fine."

"Well now," a familiar voice said. They turned to see Yao, Ling and Chien-Po approaching them. "look who decided to show up."

"What, is that a problem?" Donald demanded. He still didn't like Yao. Ling waved it off.

"Nah!"

"We're just glad you're not in black cloaks." Chien-Po told them. Mulan started.

"You saw him?" she demanded. Yao nodded.

"Yeah, he's at the palace." he informed them. Mulan's eyes narrowed and she sprinted towards the palace. The others quickly followed. They reached the palace gates... and slammed right into them.

"Open up!" Sora shouted as he attempted to pry the gates open.

"Over here!" Mulan exclaimed. They all turned to her and saw she was looking at a pillar. Goofy caught on, ran towards it and began climbing. Donald followed him, followed by Sora, Terra, Ven and Ash. Mulan looked at the ease in which they were climbing and gulped. She slowly formed a good grip on the pillar and began climbing. Suddenly she slipped and began falling. She closed her eyes and braced herself, but the impact with the ground never came. She opened her eyes to see that Ash had caught her.

"Easy there, I got you." he said smiling. Mulan smiled back as he helped her regain her grip. They made it up the rest of the way with no trouble. They finally made to the top and walked through a secret passageway that led them inside and they all jumped to the ground to see a guy in a black coat standing there.

"Wait!" Mulan shouted. The man flinched and slowly turned to face them. Sora dropped his guard and approached him.

"Riku?" he asked hesitantly. Donald and Goofy exchanged a look and watched as the scene unfolded.

The man lowered his hood to reveal a man with gold eyes, as scar, and dark hair with gray steaks, pulled into a ponytail. "Nope, never heard of him!" he smirked as Sniper Nobodies appeared.

'_Xigbar..._' Ash thought. Sora turned back to see that Xigbar had disappeared. Ash looked behind them to see Xigbar escaping through the gate. The snipers kept firing lasers that froze in midair for a second before continuing their flight paths. This gave the Keybladers enough time to kick them back towards the Nobodies, stunning them, giving the others a chance to attack.

"I guess it wasn't Riku..." Goofy commented.

"Who was that guy?" Sora asked.

"He looked like someone we know." Terra told them. "His name was Braig."

"Braig was his original name," Ash explained, making them all turn to him. "his name is Xigbar now. No. II the Freeshooter. He's one of the senior members. He controls the Sniper Nobodies and uses the attribute of Space. He can teleport freely and defy gravity as he pleases."

"I'm sorry," Mulan cut in. "I can't stay, I'm worried about Shang."

"Oh, right." Sora exclaimed. With that they raced into the throne room.

"Your Excellency! Shang! Something terrible has happened!" Mulan exclaimed. "We saw this huge flying monster fly out from the mountains and its heading towards the city!"

"Ahh." the Emperor said. "So it is as the young man said. Isn't that right, Captain?"

Shang jumped. "Y- yes Your Exellency." The Emperor turned back to them.

"You see, a young stranger visited us not long ago." he began. "The Captain fought the visitor, but was quickly defeated."

Shang looked down. "To my dishonor..." he sighed.

"It seems that young man is the one in black that I have heard whispers about." the Emperor went on.

"Did he mention the name Riku?" Sora asked hopefully. The Emperor shook his head.

"He didn't offer his name." he explained. "He was rather rude."

"Rude?" Sora exclaimed. "Then it _was_ Riku!" Everyone sighed.

"That's kind of vague isn't it?" Terra asked. Sora ignored him.

"Don't be so negative, Terra!" Ven scolded. Terra rolled his eyes.

"Riku's in the Organization?" Donald whispered. Ash shook his head.

"Not necessarily, the King wears one of those cloaks too, you know." he pointed out. Goofy nodded in agreement. "I have one too," he said reaching into his side pouch and pulling out a cloak. Everyone stared at him.

"Where'd you get that?" Terra asked confused. Ash shrugged

"Halloween Town," he answered. "I thought it looked cool, so I kept it." Everyone sweat dropped.

"But why would he come here?" Mulan questioned. Sora was about to answer when the entire palace began shaking. "I'll check outside!" Mulan informed the Emperor. The sextet nodded and followed her.

"Mulan!" Shang exclaimed. She turned to him.

"Shang - guard the Emperor!" she ordered. "I'll be fine - with them!"

Sora looked startled. "Th- that's right!"

Ash nodded. "We'll keep your girlfriend safe for you." Mulan and Shang blushed scarlet.

"Ash!" she hissed. The others chuckled.

"Indeed." the Emperor said amused. "We need not worry while you protect us."

"Hurry!" Donald shouted. They all nodded and followed the duck out the door.

* * *

Mulan pushed the palace gates open, only for the Heartless to swoop down, trying to get inside. Mulan jumped back in surprise. Sora grasped her shoulder. She nodded and the septet ran out to meet it. They looked up to see it circling the palace. It swooped down at them, forcing them to roll out of the way. Sora and Ash nodded at each other and grabbed onto the Heartless' tail. The others ran up and did the same. The Storm Rider roared and took to the sky. Sora and Ash hung onto one of the spikes on its back when the Heartless did a barrel roll, knocking everyone else off.

Sora began attacking one of the spikes on its side, while Ash attacked the other. They were both destroyed, stunning the beast and making it fall to the ground. This gave the others a chance to begin their own assault. Everyone focused on one area. The face. Sora and Ash slid down, and began assisting their comrades. Storm Rider suddenly took the the sky again and swooped down to attack. Terra slashed at its face with his Keyblade, Earth Shaker. This stunned the beast, allowing him to jump up and slam it to the ground. The beast suddenly let loose a stream of lightning, forcing them to retreat while it took to the sky once more. Ven got an idea when he saw a tiny tornado nearby. He jumped into it, and used its power to fly high into the sky, landing right on the Heartless' back. He attacked the spikes on its back, sending it to the ground once more. Sora took the chance and stabbed the Heartless in the face. Everything froze and Sora ripped his weapon out. The Heartless roared as it took to the sky only to plummet to the ground, heading straight for Mulan!

"Mulan!" A voice cried. She turned to see Shang tackle her to the side, and avoid being crushed. He Heartless hit the ground and evaporated in a puff of smoke, releasing a giant heart.

"That was close..." Ven sighed.

"Way to go!" Sora cheered. Shang helped Mulan up and the two stood there, gazing into each other's eyes. Sora, Donald, Goofy, Terra and Ash chuckled while Ven just looked on confused.

"What?" Ven asked. "What is it?"

Ash turned to him. "Well..." he was cut off as Terra put him in a headlock.

"Don't corrupt his innocence," Terra whispered. "or Aqua will beat the living daylights out of both of us!"

"Good call..." Ash whispered back, shuddering at the image of an enraged Aqua. Mulan and Shang finally noticed that they were not alone. They turned to them, then back to each other and jumped away, blushing. Everyone except Ven smirked at the two and watched as fireworks began appearing above the palace.

* * *

The septet stood before the Emperor, Shang at his side. "Once again, you have served China well." the Emperor praised. "It would please me to reward you." Donald began grinning greedily. "What is it you wish?" Goofy's stomach began growling.

Sora thought about it. "Well..." he began. "You say a guy in black came to see you. What did he say?"

The Emperor blinked. "That is all you request?" Donald and Goofy looked like they were about to interrupt.

"Yes." Sora said firmly. The two sighed before perking up to hear what the Emperor had to say.

"Dragons have crossed out land and left a great web of paths." the Emperor began. "These dragons wield much power, and they are the source of many gifts to both man and nature. But it would seem someone of evil intent disturbed one of out dragons, and transformed it into what you call a Heartless. It is my belief that this young man came to warn me of that danger. The, I could alert and prepare my troops."

"Did you?" Terra asked. The Emperor chuckled.

"I was about to, but he told me the situation had changed." he said.

Shang took over explaining. "He said six 'wise guys' had arrived, and they would take care of things."

The gang looked at each other incredulously. "That's _gotta _be Riku!" Sora said happily.

"No one in the Organization would call us that," Ash agreed. He thought about it. "well, maybe Axel..." he muttered to himself.

"I finally know he's okay." Sora said, relieved.

"Yeah, that's good." Donald agreed.

"Now, Ashura," the Emperor said turning to Ash. "Do you have a request?"

"Ashura?" Sora asked confused.

"A different version of my name." Ash explained. Ash turned to Terra and Ven who shook their heads. "Guess I don't."

"Are you sure?" the Emperor asked. He smiled. "All of you are very humble indeed. And what of you, Fa Mulan?"

Mulan blushed. "Well... I'd like Shang... I- I mean the Captain..."

"Yes, yes, my dear, what is it?" the Emperor asked.

Mulan gulped. "Could the Captain have a vacation, please?" Shang's eyes widened and blushed slightly.

The Emperor chuckled. "My, even you, Fa Mulan? I hardly expected such humble requests." The Emperor stood. "In this case, I'm afraid I must refuse. Captain Li's responsibility is to protect the Emperor." Mulan looked very disappointed. "And yet, Mulan..."

Mulan stood straight. "Yes?"

The Emperor smiled. "Would you like to serve alongside him and protect me?"

"What?" Shang and Mulan said, looking taken aback.

"Two reeds together are stronger than one, but the choice is yours alone," The Emperor said.

"Thank you, Your Excellency!" Mulan said as she bowed once more and Shang approached her with a smile on his face. Sora and Ash watched with smiles on their faces. Sora wiped his eyes.

"Hey you two...!" Terra said smirking.

"Yeah, why are your faces red?" Donald asked.

"Not this again!" Sora cried. He turned to Ash. "Pick on _him_!"

Ash shrugged. "Hey, I'll admit it. I've got someone."

Sora looked shocked. "Oh come on!" he exclaimed as they all rounded on him once more.

"I don't understand!" Ven cried. Ash chuckled and wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

"Don't worry, Ven." he assured him. "You'll understand in a few years."

"Longer if Aqua has anything to say about it..." Terra muttered. Mulan smiled at her friends and jumped when Shang wrapped an arm around her. She smiled at him and he smiled back.

"I still don't understand..." Ven muttered as the Gummi Ship beamed them up.

* * *

**A/N: I'm also sorry if this Chapter's a little boring.**


	27. Beast's Castle

**A/N: Xaldin is the No 1 reason I dislike Beast's Castle, but I think I just dislike the place in general. This chapter is pretty boring, so you might as well skip it.**

**Chapter 27 of Pokemon: Keyblade Masters**

**

* * *

**

"Alright, where to now?" Ash asked curiously.

"Well there's only one path open right now," Sora replied.

"It's Beast's Castle!" Donald exclaimed.

"I wonder if they've broken the curse yet?" Ash said thoughtfully.

"Let's go see!" Sora suggested.

"Right," Ash nodded as Sora piloted the ship towards the castle.

* * *

"This place is _big_." Ven said in awe. Terra was similarly impressed, though did not voice it. Ash saw that the Beast was nervously pacing before the stairs in a fancy dress suit.

"Hey there!" Sora called. Donald glanced around the room.

"No Heartless and no Nobodies!" he noted.

"I think they're close though..." Terra muttered. Sora nodded.

"Better watch out." he agreed. The Beast growled irritably as he turned to them.

"What are you so mad about?" Donald asked annoyed.

"Why are you here?" Beast asked, rather rudely. "And who are they?" he added upon seeing Terra and Ven.

"This is Terra and Ven." Ash introduced them.

"We're looking for the Nobodies' world." Sora explained. "More specifically, a way in."

"Hmph." the Beast grunted as he turned back to the stairs. Suddenly they heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Beast began walking up the steps and paused. He turned back, looking slightly apologetic. "Tonight is... very important." he explained. Beast turned and continued up the steps, meeting Belle, who was wearing a formal yellow ball gown, at the door to the ballroom.

"Uh, maybe we came at a bad time..." Goofy muttered.

"Agreed," Terra nodded.

"Why?" Ven asked. Ash was about to explain when Donald started up the steps.

"There's only one way to find out!" the duck said mischievously. Ven followed him, not knowing that they were interrupting.

"Donald, Ven!" Terra hissed as he chased after them. The two ignored the others shouting for them to come back, forcing them to give chase as well.

The Beast escorted Belle into the Ballroom and they smiled at each other.

"Now then, Monsieur, Mademoiselle. Please, enjoy the evening," Lumiere said pleasantly and noticed that Ash, Sora and the others had also come to the Ballroom to watch was going on and he added, "And of course our honored guests are welcome too."

"A welcome indeed." A voice cut in. Belle clutched at Beast in fear while the others raced into the middle of the ballroom. Ash looked up to see a man in a black cloak.

"The Organization!" Sora shouted, having noticed him also.

"You don't know when to quit." the man sneered.

"Oh, yeah?" Donald shouted as he pulled out his staff. "We'll show you!"

The Beast stared at the man with anger and ran to join the others. "Get out!"

"Not tonight!" Belle shouted in anger. The man snapped his fingers and Nobodies appeared. They attacked Beast, but he knocked them back. Everyone brought out their weapons.

"I've come to take something you hold very dear." the man, Ash recognized the voice to be Xaldin, informed them. The Beast glared and let out a roar that shook the whole castle. "Yes, let your anger grow..." he whispered as he disappeared in a portal.

"Beast, we gotta get rid of these guys first!" Ash cried as he slashed at a Dragoon. The Dragoons would suddenly appeared above them and slam to the ground. Sora, Ash, Terra and Ven quickly learned their tactics and avoided them, even mimicked them. They would leap above the Nobodies, and slam them to the ground, effectively stunning them. Eventually the Nobodies were defeated and they regrouped.

"Where's Belle?" Sora exclaimed.

"Over here!" Belle called. They turned to see her walk back in from the balcony.

"Whew," Sora sighed. "she's safe."

"Guess Xaldin didn't take anything after all." Goofy commented. Beast suddenly stiffened and took off out of the ballroom. They watched him leave, confused. They blinked when they saw Belle rush out as well.

"What could Xaldin have taken?" Donald asked.

"I don't know, but let's find out." Ash suggested.

"C'mon!" Donald ordered as he took off after the Beast and Belle. They nodded and followed the duck out of the ballroom

* * *

They reached the Beast's room to see him pacing, looking extremely angry. Belle was off on the side, looking afraid. Beast let out a roar and pounded the floor. "What's wrong?" Belle cried. She approached him. "Please calm down!"

Beast's head snapped up, "Calm down?" he growled. Belle took a step back. "You just _had _to have a party, didn't you. Don't you see what's happened?"

"Hey!" Sora shouted. "What's with you?"

"The rose!" Beast growled. He turned to the pedestal the rose formerly sat on. "my rose..." he whispered.

"This isn't Belle's fault Beast." Ash said.

"Surely you can find another rose..." Belle reasoned, not knowing the importance of the rose. Beast rounded on her.

"Silence!" he roared. "You don't know anything!" Sora and Ash stood before Belle protectively. Terra and Ven did the same.

"That's not fair Beast!" Ven cried. "Don't take it out on Belle!"

"It's not like _she _stole it." Terra added. Beast let out a frustrated growl.

"I'm sorry," Belle whispered.

"_You _don't have to apologize." Ash said firmly.

"But..." Belle tried. Beast's eyes softened and he turned away in shame.

"Belle... Sora... Ash..." he whispered. "I want you to leave the castle..." The request startled everyone as they stared at him in stunned disbelief. "Look at me. Look. This is what I am. When you first got here, I tried to change." Beast stared at his hands. "But I was only fooling myself. I can't be any different. I'll always be a Beast, so I should live like a Beast... With no one... alone. Good-bye, Belle."

"You can't mean that," Belle whispered desperately as Beast turned away from them.

"I think his mind's all made up." Goofy whispered to them.

"Yeah," Sora whispered back. No one knew what to say.

Ash turned to Belle and said, "Look Belle, leave this to us, if we can get the Beast's rose back, he'll calm down." Belle nodded absentmindedly and walked away.

"I don't think that got the result we were looking for," Terra said and everyone sighed in disappointment. They left the room to see Mrs. Potts talking to Lumiere and Cogsworth.

"Poor child..." she whispered.

Cogsworth sighed. "How could it have come to this?"

"And they were so looking forward to this evening..." Lumiere added. Mrs. Potts turned to them.

"Now, now - no need to be so sad." she encouraged. "Once the rose is back safetly, this will all be over."

"What's so special about that rose in the first place?" Ven asked and all of kitchen objects jumped in surprise as they did not see them standing there but Mrs. Potts recovered her composure and said, "If the Master can learn to love and receive love in return," she began.

"The spell will be broken, we'll all be humans once again," Lumiere finished. Ven looked confused at all this talk of 'love', but they ignored him.

"Yeah, you told us." Donald commented.

"However, there is a time limit." Cogsworth began. "he must find his true love before the last petal on that rose falls,"

"Ah, but that's not all," Mrs. Potts said.

"As time went on, caring for the rose has become a cherished part of the Master's daily life," Lumiere explained.

"It's like all of his hopes and dreams are tied to that single bloom," Mrs. Potts finished.

"Poor Beast!" Sora exclaimed.

"We've gotta get it back now!" Ash added.

"Please do!" Mrs. Potts urged.

"We can't without the Beast though..." Sora muttered. "If it's that important to him, he's got to do it himself." The others nodded in agreement and made their way back into Beast's room.

"Hey, Beast!" Ven exclaimed. Beast sighed.

"Leave me alone..." he muttered.

"C'mon you need to hear this!" Sora insisted. "You used to be fearless, you would have given your life to save Belle." Beast remained silent. "Don't you know what that meant to us? You gave us all courage! Hmph. Maybe you should have kept some for yourself."

"Yeah, Beast," Ash encouraged. "are you really gonna throw all your happiness away?"

"The rose is your only hope, isn't it?" Sora asked. "Well it's the only hope for Cogsworth and the others too! So don't throw away your last chance. Remember what it was like before Belle lived here?" The Beast looked up. "See? You can't give up. Not now."

"I know one thing..." Beast said slowly.

"What's that?" Ash asked. Beast spun around.

"This castle belongs to me!" he growled. "Xaldin will never be welcome here!"

"That's the spirit, Beast." Terra said as everyone nodded.

"Let's take that guy down." Ash muttered as they raced out of the room.

* * *

The septet entered the entrance hall and looked around. "So Beast, you came after all," Xaldin said from a high window. "You had me worried. I was afraid that you'd given up for good,"

"What are you after?" Ven demanded.

"You should know, Roxas." Xaldin said coldly. Ven looked at him confused. "Kingdom Hearts."

"Who's Roxas?" Ven asked.

"It's hard to explain," Ash sighed.

"He's your's and Sora's Nobody." Terra explained.

"But how can we have the same Nobody?"

"You and Sora shared a heart, remember?" Ash questioned.

"I'm still here," Xaldin interrupted, mildly annoyed.

"Shut up, Xaldin." Ash said, not even paying attention to him anymore. A vein popped up on Xaldin's head.

"Hmm," he grunted, a sneer forming on his face. "amusing how traitors flock to each other."

"Gonna cry?" Sora taunted.

"As No. II would say, 'as if'." Xaldin smirked. "When Kingdom Hearts is ours, we can exist fully and completely."

"Why is _everyone _after Kingdom Hearts?" Ash muttered. "Can't they come up with something else?" They all nodded in agreement. Xaldin was getting pissed by the constant interruptions. He took a deep breath and continued.

"You see Beast, that's why we need your Heartless _and_ your Nobody!" Xaldin exclaimed as Dragoons appeared out of nowhere. Xaldin took the time they were fighting to escape from the castle. He sneered at them one last time before closing the door behind him. The septet raced after him into the courtyard.

"Where are you, Xaldin..." Ash muttered.

"Look!" they heard Belle shout. Everyone turned to the balcony to see a familiar container in her hands. "It's the rose!" A familiar figure crept up behind her.

"Belle behind you!" Terra shouted. Too late, Xaldin had grabbed her from behind.

"Belle!" Beast exclaimed. Xaldin smirked at them and leapt from the balcony, cleared the wall and landed on the other side with both the rose _and _Belle. Beast charged after them, knocking the gates down in the process.

"Hurry!" Sora cried as they ran after him. They saw Xaldin on the other end of the bridge.

"You..." Beast growled. "Get out of my castle, now!"

"With pleasure," Xaldin sneered. "but I'd rather travel light, what shall I leave behind?" he glanced at the rose, then Belle. "Belle, or the rose?"

Beast growled in rage. "Belle!" he shouted as he ran towards them, Sora and Ash followed. Belle glared at her captor before elbowing him in the stomach and ripping the rose from his grip. She ran right pass a stunned Beast, Sora and Ash.

"Good one!" Sora cheered.

Ash laughed. "Go, Belle!" Beast turned his attention back to Xaldin, as did everyone else. Beast slashed at him, but Xaldin leapt back. He glared at them before six tornadoes formed around him. From the tornadoes emerged six lances. He caught two lances in each hand, as the wind began blowing, keeping the other four in midair.

"No. III, Xaldin: the Whirlwind Lancer." Ash whispered to them. "He's basically a super-strong Dragoon."

"Got it," Sora nodded. Xaldin gathered his lances and swung them at the septet at high speed. Ven and Terra were knocked back while Sora and Ash leapt over them. Xaldin was left open, and that was all they needed. Sora immediately began attacking him while Ash slid behind him, attacking his back. Xaldin recalled his lances and leapt high into the air, away from them. He did not anticipate Beast ramming him into the gate. Xaldin snarled and thrust his lances forward, forcing Beast to jump back. Goofy hurled his shield, breaching through his defenses and slamming into his face. Xaldin took to the sky, his lances taking the form of a dragon.

"Incoming!" Terra shouted as the 'dragon' began firing a laser beam at them. Ven pulled out a charm, which began glowing. The charm transformed into a small fairy, who began giggling. Navi began glowing a brighter blue as she erected a barrier around them, protecting them from Xaldin's laser. They remained unharmed while the barrier shattered, sending pieces flying into Xaldin. The Nobody fell to the ground, exhausted as his lances disappeared. He cried out as he began faded into darkness.

"It's over..." Ash sighed.

"That wasn't fun..." Sora agreed. Beast stared at the place where Xaldin disappeared before remembering something.

"Belle!" he gasped before dashing towards the courtyard. The others followed at a more sedate pace. When they arrived they saw Belle and Beast standing face to face.

"Here," she said handing him the rose. "It's yours again."

Beast took the rose. "Belle..."

"I know..." she whispered. "You want me to leave the castle."

Beast looked down. "What matters is... you weren't hurt be Xaldin." Beast muttered. "You're safe." Everyone perked up slightly. "And... I'm very grateful to you, for bringing the rose back to me..." he seemed very embarrassed. "Thank you..."

Belle smiled. "It's the least I could do." she insisted. "You've been good to me. And you didn't have to be."

Beast took a deep breath. "Listen, Belle..." he began nervously.

Belle looked hopeful. "Yes?" Beast faltered slightly as he turned to everyone for help.

"Say it," Sora said excitedly.

"Go on," Lumiere urged.

"C'mon!" Donald hissed nervously.

"You can do it," Ash and Mrs. Potts said.

"We have confidence." Cogsworth added.

Goofy chuckled. "Don't be bashful now!"

Beast took a deep breath. "Belle, I'd like you to stay... With me... please?"

Belle smiled brilliantly and offered Beast her hand. The Beast took it and drew her close. "I will," she whispered as they began to dance.

"Maestro - music!" Lumiere ordered as music began playing.

"Hey, did you see the look on Belle's face when she grabbed that rose?" Sora asked grinning. Donald nodded.

"It was awesome!" Ven laughed.

"Yep, she sure was havin' fun, alright." Goofy agreed. Suddenly they heard a sob to their left. Everyone except Beast and Belle turned to see Terra standing there dabbing his eyes.

"It's so beautiful." he whispered. They all sweat dropped, seeing Mr. Macho tearing up. Everyone but Ven, that is.

"Terra, what's wrong?" the blonde boy asked, getting up in Terra's face.

"Nothing's wrong, Ven." Terra sighed.

"He's just really happy for them," Sora explained. "Beast and Belle are falling in love!"

"Love?" Ven asked. Sora blinked.

"You know, l-" he was cut off as Ash and Terra started dragging him away. "Hey, what's the big idea? Let me go!"

"Come on, Sora." Ash sighed.

"Back to the Gummi Ship!" Terra ordered. Ven sighed and the Gummi Ship beamed them up.

* * *

**A/N: Xaldin... I hate you so much. Another boring chapter. At least we'll get to see Lightning next chapter!**


	28. Olympus Coliseum

**A/N: I know the Gummi Ship seems small, but let's just pretend that it's of decent size. It has several rooms, albeit, kinda small.**

**

* * *

**

"I don't get it," Sora complained once they were all on board. "we should tell him."

"Go ahead if you want to," Ash began.

"But we're blaming it on you once we find Aqua." Terra warned.

"Tell who what?" Ven asked as he leaned back in his chair.

"Ven, have you ever heard of the birds and the bees?" Goofy asked.

"They're animals, aren't they?" Ven asked. Terra sighed.

"Okay," Donald began. "when a man and a woman love each other, _very much_, the man -"

"I'm leaving." Ash stated as he got up from his chair and made his way down the narrow hallway. He leaned against the side and sank to the floor as he waited.

"REALLY?" he could hear Ven scream. Soon the automatic door opened with a 'whoosh' and Terra stepped out, quite red-faced.

"I should have left when you did." Terra moaned as he sat down next to him. Ash laughed. The two sat there waiting until:

"NO WAY!" Ven shouted.

"Yes way!" Donald answered.

"Aqua's gonna kill us..." Terra whispered. Ash nodded.

"Seriously?" Ven yelled.

"And then she's gonna drag our bodies away..." Terra continued.

"Wow." Ven exclaimed.

"...and toss us in a river, never to be seen again..." he finished with a shudder.

"H - hey guys?" Sora called. "Y - you can come back now."

Ash heaved a sigh and stood, Terra did the same and the two walked back into the cockpit. They saw that everyone except Ven was red in the face. The blonde simply had a thoughtful look on his face.

"Sora, you love Kairi, right?" At Sora's hesitant nod, he went on. "Does that mean that you've -"

"NO!" the brown haired boy shouted. The ship lurched slightly. If Sora was blushing before, it was nothing compared to what was on his face now. "Oh man, someone take the controls!"

Ash did so and Sora promptly left the room. Ash piloted the ship towards the next world. "Is that Olympus Coliseum?" Terra asked. Ash nodded.

"You've been there?" he asked.

"Yeah," Terra said. "Finally, a world I recognize."

"Hey, Ash?" Ven asked. "You have a girlfriend, right? Does that mean you've...?"

"Ven," Ash said stiffly. "I'm not sure what Donald told you, but shut up."

"He's right, Donald," Goofy agreed. "did ya have to be so blunt?"

Donald shrugged. "He'd find out sooner or later." The door opened and Sora stepped back in, his head completely soaked and his blush gone.

"Did I miss anything?" he asked upon sitting in a chair.

"Well, we're about to land." Ash informed him as he piloted the ship.

"Olympus?" Sora mused. "Let's check on Herc and the others."

"I'm on it." Ash replied as the ship landed. "Thank Arceus this is over..." Ash muttered to himself.

* * *

The sextet landed in the Underworld, much to Terra's and Ven's surprise. "Well?" Sora asked nervously.

"Looks like the coast is clear." Ash responded.

"No sign of the Nobodies or the Heartless," Sora sighed in relief.

"For now, anyways." Terra said. Ash looked to their left and saw a very strange structure in the distance.

"What's that?" he asked the others, causing them to follow his gaze.

"The Underdome." a familiar voice said. They turned to see Auron striding up to them. "Fiends of the Underworld once clashed there - battle after battle. But Zeus didn't like the senseless violence, so he locked the place up."

"How did it get UN-locked?" Ven asked. Auron snorted.

"Some fool must have broken the seal."

"What an idiot." Terra agreed. Sora and Ash exchanged nervous glances.

"You don't think...?" Sora whispered.

"No one has to know..." Ash whispered back. "Let's just stay quiet."

"Alright," Sora took a deep breath. "So where are you going, Auron? We should catch up!"

Auron turned away from them. "If you need something to do, go help your friends." Everyone blinked as he walked away.

"Hey!" another voice called. They all turned to see Herc and Meg standing at the entrance to the Underworld. The two ran up to them. "No way!" Herc said happily. "Terra? Ven?"

"Whoa..." Terra muttered. "You've gotten _big_."

"Sure have!" Herc laughed.

"Hey, Herc!" Ven said happily.

"Aw, this is great!" Herc exclaimed as he grabed each and every one of them in a hug. "All my pals, together!" he frowned. "Where's Aqua?"

"We're looking for her." Ash sighed.

"Oh, I see," Herc said putting them all down. "It's good to see you two again!"

"So what's up, Herc?" Sora asked. "You feelin' any better?"

"Well, same routine," Meg sighed. "Wonderboy here, pushing himself to his limit."

"Gawrsh, Herc, we know you're a hero!" Goofy exclaimed. "No need to prove yourself."

"That's right, Blunderboy." Hades' voice echoed through the caverns. "Don't mope on a day like this, the Underdome's back and you're going to fill the stands. After all, your fans won't settle for anything less than a perfect hero!"

Herc growled at Hades, but his exhaustion was clear on his face. Hades smirked and wrapped an arm around the hero. "But, if you're not up to it, you could always, I don't know. _Lose_?"

"I'd bet you'd like that!" Sora growled.

"Excuse me?" Hades exclaimed. "Hey, I'm not a selfish guy. I'm not like those high and mighty snobs up on Olympus. I stand for the masses! And have I got a massive idea!" He turned and shouted for all the Underworld to hear. "The games, ladies and gentlemen, are back! Yous truly, Hades - the one and only Lord of the Dead - brings you the ultimate games, to celebrate the re-opening of the ultimate coliseum! We'll finally answer the age-old question: Who deserves the title of Ultimate Hero? These games are gonna settle the debate once and for all! The winner reigns supreme! Of what? You guessed it! The Hades Cup!" he turned back to them with a smirk on his face. "And I assure you that the _Great _Hercules will be there. Otherwise..." Hades turned his gaze to Meg, who flinched. Hercules glared at Hades and moved in front of Meg protectively. "You'll never see your girlfriend again."

"Lowlife!" Sora shouted as Hades disappeared.

"You're too kind, kid." Hades' voice echoed through the caverns.

"What do you guys think? Should we enter the tournament or not?" Sora asked the other five.

"I don't know, it feels like a trap..." Terra muttered. Meg pulled Sora and Ash aside.

"Look guys," she began. "Hercules will never will the match in the condition he's in now."

"Well, the its a team tournament, and Hades never said anything about him fighting alone." Ash suggested.

"Yeah, don't worry, Meg." Sora assured. "We'll help him out."

"Thanks you two." Meg said smiling. The two walked up to Pain to sign up, however, they ran into a problem.

"What do you _mean _'only four people to a team'?" Ash demanded. Pain back up, hands raised.

"Whoa, they're Hades' rules, not mine!" he defended. Sora dragged Ash away.

"This is bad." the brown haired boy whispered.

"Tell me about it." Ash moaned. By this point the others walked over to see what the fuss was about.

"Is something wrong?" Herc asked.

"Yeah, Pain says there can only be four people to a team." Sora explained.

"What?" Donald demanded angrily.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Hades made that rule up, just for us." Terra frowned.

"So we have to split up?" Ven asked.

"Looks that way." Sora sighed. "Okay, Team 1 will be me, Donald, Goofy and Herc. I'll be team leader."

"So Team 2 is Ash, Ven and me?" Terra questioned. "I guess Ash is team leader."

"I know where we can get a fourth!" Ash exclaimed. Everyone looked at him. A light bulb went off in Sora's head.

"Oh yeah! That girl!" he realized. "The one that hardly spoke and didn't remember our names!"

"Lightning." Ash reminded him. Sora nodded.

"She's probably up in the Coliseum." Herc told them.

"Thanks, Herc." Ash said as he took off up the stairs to the Coliseum. Terra and Ven quickly followed him. Ash pushed open the doors and closed his eyes as the sun hit his face.

"Whoa, what happened to it?" Ven exclaimed. Terra was looking around in shock.

"Last time we came, Hades sicked a Hydra on Herc." Ash explained. "Herc defeated it, but it was still alive and caused all this damage before we could stop it."

Ash looked around. There were various worker rebuilding the Coliseum, with Phil ordering them around. Ash spotted a familiar head of pink hair, sitting in the shade. Lightning had taken her jacket off, revealing a turtleneck tanktop. Terra was grinning like an idiot so Ash leaned in to whisper to him. "Watch your step around her, or you may find a few _important _parts of you missing." Terra quickly blanched and subtly hid behind Ven. Not that it helped much, seeing as how Ven was quite a bit shorter than he was.

"Hey, Light!" Ash called running up to her. She turned at his voice and smiled softly. She frowned, eyes going cold, upon seeing he was not alone.

"Hello, Ash." she said.

"Hi, I'm Ven!" the blonde said cheerfully. Light nodded at him. "This guy's Terra."

Terra waved. Lightning nodded once again. She turned back to Ash. "You're safe."

Ash smiled. "Happy to see you're okay, too," he nodded. "anyway, I wanted to ask you something."

"What?" Ash quickly went on to explain everything that had happened so far, with Terra and Ven adding in bits and pieces that he'd forgotten. "So you need a fourth member." she stated. They all nodded. Lightning smirked. "I don't see why not. Beats having to work in the sun all day."

"Great! Ash smiled.

"Pain said to talk to him to sign up," Ven said. Ash nodded and the four of them made their way back to the Underworld.

"Pain!" Ash called. "Sign us up." The little imp held up a clipboard and handed him a pencil.

**SOLO or TEAM?** Ash put a check in 'Team' and wrote down their names.

**TEAM NAME?** Ash blinked.

"We need a team name." Ash explained to them.

"Make it something cool!" Ven exclaimed.

Terra shrugged. "As long as it's not something stupid." Lightning took the clipboard and pencil from him and wrote something down. Ash took it again and read the name.

"_The Gilded Rose_?" Ash read.

"Kinda girly." Ven commented. He flinched when Lightning glared at him. "I - I mean, cool!"

Ash shrugged and handed the clipboard to Pain, who rushed over to a chalkboard to write down their names. The quartet walked over to the board.

"Who we fighting first?" Lightning asked.

"_Spin Strike_." Terra said, reading the name.

"Whoa, look!" Ven exclaimed. "Auron's in the tournament too!"

"We might have to fight him in the finals." Lightning sighed.

"I'm more worried about having to fight Sora and the others." Terra remarked. "What's their team name?"

Ash read the board. "_The Mighty Ducks_..."

"Donald." Everyone said deadpan.

"So when -" Ven began.

"Attention all participants!" Panic shouted. "Please report to the Underdome!"

"Guess it starts now, and we're first." Ash sighed. He steeled himself. "Let's go."

* * *

As it turned out, their opponents were nothing more than men who had control over a few Heartless. They were able to wipe the Heartless out in no time, leaving the man crying on his knees. "That was pathetic." Lightning scoffed.

"Hey!" a voice called. They turned to see Sora's team, '_The Mighty Ducks_, walking over to them.

"How'd it go out there, champ?" Ven asked Herc.

"I'm holding up," Herc said. He sighed. "Still exhausted, though."

"We're sorry you have to do this, Herc." Sora apologized. Herc waved it off.

"It's fine," he assured him. He turned back to _The Gilded Rose_. "Anyway, we better get going, see ya!"

Once they had left Ash turned back to his team. "Well, let's check out who we're up against next." The quartet walked up to the chalkboard.

"We're against _Bad Alert_..." Terra muttered.

"They better than the wimps we took on in the first round?" Light asked.

"I doubt it," Ash said shaking his head.

"Probably just another bunch of Heartless." Terra added.

"Well, let's go." Ash sighed as he entered the boat that would take them to the Underdome.

* * *

Lightning flipped into the air, slashing a Red Nocturne out of the sky. "Hmph." she grunted, sheathing her Gunblade. "That was even more pathetic than the first fight."

"Well, now we're in the semi-finals." Terra said, dismissing his Keyblade. They rode with Pain and Panic back to mainland of the Underworld. "Who're we fighting?"

Ash red it and gasped. "Auron!"

"At least we'll get a real fight this time," Lightning said smirking. "Come on, let's go!"

* * *

_'This is crazy!' _Ash thought to himself frantically. Auron raised his blade and slammed it into the ground, sending beams of dark energy flying at him. Ash rolled out of the way. Lightning, Terra and Ven were already out. He was on his own. Auron rushed at him, leaving flames of darkness where ever he walked, and slashed at him. Ash blocked his strike. '_He's using the power of darkness!_'

Auron kicked him in the stomach before punching him in the face, sending him out of the ring. "And the winner is: Auron!" a voice called out. Ash grit his teeth as he attempted to stand.

"Take it easy," Lightning whispered as she helped him up. "You took a real beating..."

"You don't have to rub it in," Ash growled.

"Calm down, we all did." she whispered. Terra and Ven walked up to them.

"What was with him?" Ven asked, slightly angry at the cheap shot Auron used. Terra glared at Auron's retreating back.

"His abilities were enhanced with the power of darkness," Terra growled.

"Something's kinda off, though." Ash said clutching his stomach. "He didn't act like that the last time we were here."

"Guys!" Sora called. They all turned to see _The Mighty Ducks_ rushing over to them. "What happened?" Sora asked concerned, seeing their beaten up state.

"Auron happened." Terra said as Donald casted Cure on on of them. Their eyes widened.

"_Auron _did this to you?" Goofy asked shocked. Ven nodded.

"Not only did he use dirty tactics, he used the power of darkness, too!" the blonde told them.

"Something's not right here." Sora shook his head. Ash nodded.

"I thought so, too." the young trainer said.

"We tried talkin' to him, but he acted like he didn't even recognize us!" Goofy exclaimed.

"Something's definitely up." Sora said. Lightning nodded towards the Cave of the Dead.

"He went that way." she said.

"Then so are we," Sora said. "Let's go!"

* * *

The septet walked through the cave. Hercules stayed behind for two reasons. One, he wanted to rest before the finals. Two, because he wanted to keep Meg safe. Sora peaked around a corner while Donald walked right out. Sora quickly grabbed the duck and pulled him back. All of them peaked around the corner to see Hades speaking to Auron.

"Okay, let's review." Hades chuckled. "State your crime, prisoner."

"I exist," Auron answered in monotone. "that is my crime. It is... inexcusable."

"Ooh, good, very good." Hades smirked.

"Since when does Auron take orders from Hades?" Sora asked. Everyone shushed him and continued listening.

"Okay, so you made one lousy mistake: you exist." Hades said turning away from Auron. "But, hey! I'm a forgiving guy! You keep your end of our little deal, and I'm willing to overlook a transgression or two."

"I understand." Auron answered, once again in monotone. "Defeat Hercules."

Hades raised an eyebrow. "And his meddling friends."

Auron blinked. "What? No, only Hercules."

Hades laughed. "Oh, don't tell me you've forgotten who's in charge?" He placed a hand of Auron's shoulder and a red aura began flowing from Auron. The man gasped in pain as Hades pulled out a tiny statue of Auron, which was engulfed in the same red aura. "Hercules and the other three, got it?" Hades thought about something. "You already took out the other four, right?"

"Y- yes." Auron gasped. "They are out of the tournament."

"That's it?" Hades scoffed. "Go back and do the job right!"

"Yes, Hades..."

"Lord Hades." the blue man corrected.

"Lord... Hades..." Auron managed. The aura disappeared, leaving Auron standing there, panting.

"Good." Hades smirked. "Now go!" He gestured towards the door and Auron left the room to get ready for the finals.

"So that's how he's controlling Auron," Sora exclaimed once Auron left.

"What a jerk!" Donald huffed.

"I think he's more than a jerk, Donald." Ash muttered. Lightning nodded.

"Didn't you hear what he said?" she asked. "_Go back and do the job right._"

Sora blanched. "He didn't mean..."

"I think he did, Sora." Terra said darkly.

"Come on!" Ven exclaimed. "We've gotta stop him, I'm too young to die!"

"Not exactly how I would have said it, but he's right!" Sora agreed. The septet left the cave just in time to see Auron depart for the Underdome.

"Too late..." Ash sighed. Herc walked up to them.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Auron's in trouble!" Sora exclaimed. "It's like Hades brainwashed him!"

"He's using some kind of a statue." Goofy informed him.

"You know, that sounds kinda familiar..." Hercules muttered. "Hades must be using it to hold Auron's free will hostage."

"What do we do?" Donald quacked.

"What else?" Lighting asked. "Find that statue."

"It's most likely in Hades' chamber." Terra said.

"I remember that Pain said Hades' chamber is at the back of the Underworld." Ash remarked.

"Then let's go!" Sora said. Suddenly a blue hand was on his shoulder.

"Don't tell me you're thinking of leaving." Hades said. "You've got a match coming up!"

Hercules strode up to him. "I'll fight Auron in the finals. One on one."

"Oh, you will?" Hades smirked. Herc leaned down and whispered to them.

"I'll draw things out to buy you time." he told them. Sora looked worried.

"But -"

"Just hurry back, I know you can do it!" Herc smiled.

"What about you?" Ash asked. Herc grinned.

"I'll be fine, I'm a hero after all!" he said as he flexed.

"Congratulations, you've got a deal." Hades said. "On one condition. They Keybladers here, and thier trusty friends have to meet the winner in one final clash, whaddya say?"

Herc glared at him. "That'll drive the crowd wild..." he muttered.

"It'd better, I promised the crowd the event of their afterlives." Hades remarked as he and Hercules entered the boat. The septet glared after him.

Ash sighed. "Let's go get that statue."

* * *

Sora raced into Hades' chamber and saw the statue on a table. "Got it!" he exclaimed as he grabbed it. "Whoa!" he cried as he was engulfed in a red aura. Goofy blinked and touched him, only to yelp as the aura engulfed him as well.

"Huh?" Donald quacked.

"Donald, I wouldn't..." Terra began. Too late. Donald touched him, and was engulfed in aura.

"What's goin' on?" he cried. To the others it looked as though they were being shocked. Suddenly the aura disappeared as Sora, Donald and Goofy began looking around wildly.

"You guys okay?" Ash asked concerned.

"I get it..." Sora whispered. "This is what belongs in Auron's heart."

"Sora?" Ven questioned.

"Gawsh, he must've had a rough life." Goofy said sadly. Sora nodded.

"But in the end, that's what made him stronger."

"What are you talking about?" Lightning asked annoyed. They all jumped, as though they forgot they were there.

"I think we just heard Auron's memories..." Sora muttered.

"Let's give it back!" Donald exclaimed. The others nodded and moved towards the door. Ash's attention was brought to something else on the table. He picked it up. It was a strange pendant, shaped like a planet.

"What is this?" Ash asked. Lightning's eyes widened.

"This is..." she whispered. "Serah's pendant..."

"Your sister?" Ash whispered. The others had already left.

"Our mother gave this to her before she died." Lightning answered. "She would never be careless enough to lose this."

"And it was here, in Hades chamber, of all places..." Ash muttered. Lightning clenched her fist.

"_He _was the one who took her..." she hissed. "while I went on a wild goose chase, _he _had her all along."

"Then we'll have to get her back." Ash smiled as he pocketed the pendant. She looked at him and nodded. They quickly ran out to join their friends/companions.

* * *

They entered the Underdome to see Hercules attempting to hold off Auron's attack. "Finish him, now!" Hades shouted. Auron pushed against Herc.

"Auron, no!" Sora shouted.

"Hey, Auron!" Donald shouted. "This belongs to you!" Sora pulled out the Auron statue. He tossed the statue over to them. It exploded in midair, showering Auron in red sparks. Herc released his sword, causing it to fall to the side harmlessly. Hercules let out an exhausted sigh and Auron stood up straight.

"Sora, Donald, Goofy, Ash." he said.

"Auron!" they shouted happily, glad he was back to his senses. Hades turned red.

"Why those little -" he stood, turning blue once again. "Prisoner, what happened to our little agreement?"

Auron looked up at him coldly, while the others joined him on the stadium floor. "Maybe you didn't hear me." he said. "This is my story, and you're not part of it."

Hades turned red once more and disappeared in a flash of flames. A bang echoed through the stadium and Hades appeared before them. "That's it!" he roared. "This game is over. I've played by the rules so far. Okay, I confess, I was hoping Wonderboy would lose, but it was still a fair fight! C'mon is that really so wrong?"

"Really?" Sora asked sarcastically. "A fair fight?"

"Laugh, laugh, laugh all you want." Hades growled. "Because the laughing is about to stop! Cause now, we're gonna play by my rules." He snapped his fingers and a gate opened behind him, revealing a glowing green pit. They heard a scream and looked behind them to see Meg disappear in a flash of smoke. They turned back to Hades in time to see him about to throw Meg into the pit.

"Meg!" Herc cried.

"Hercules!" Meg screamed.

"Hey, I warned you right at the get-go." Hades shrugged. "You don't compete, you lose the girl."

"But he did compete!" Ash growled. "You never said anything about having to win!"

"Detail!" Hades scoffed as he dropped her into the pit.

"No!" Herc screamed as he jumped in after her. "Meg hang on!"

Hades laughed. "Looks like Wonderboy has dropped out of the standings."

Everyone got into fighting stances. "Well you've still got us to deal with!" Sora shouted. Hades appeared behind them.

"Oh yeah, this is gonna be good." he smirked. They fought as hard as they could but couldn't do any damage at all and Hades laughed at their failed attempts.

"We can't win..." Sora whispered.

"How come?" Ven asked, frustrated.

"Because it's his underworld," Auron replied.

"Gee, then how do we beat him?" Goofy asked.

"I think a true hero should be able to help," a voice said and they all turned to see Herc standing there, holding Meg in his arms.

"But…you…" Hades said, stuttering random stuff.

"A true hero is measured by the strength of his heart." Herc explained.

"Just no more crazy stunts," Terra muttered.

"People always do crazy things when they're in love," Herc said grinning. Pegasus swooped down and carried Meg off.

"How dare you get a happy end, how DARE you!" Hades shouted as they pulled out their weapons. Herc summoned two Aura Spheres which Sora and Ash whacked at the Hades, forcing him to revert to his normal form. Auron, Terra and Ven took the chance to attack. Lightning hung back with Donald. She was firing rounds while Donald casted various magic. Hades teleported away and summoned a ball of fire above them, which would rain fire down at them. "You think you can defeat me? Lord of the Dead?" Hades snarled.

"Where is she?" Lightning demanded.

"Who?" Sora asked.

"Where's my sister?" she snarled.

"Oh, Pinky?" Hades asked. He smirked. "I'm sure she's... somewhere..." he glanced at the pit once more.

"Return her!" Hercules demanded.

"I don't think so," Hades scoffed. "Unless you can make things... interesting..."

"What do you want?" Lightning growled. Hades buffed his fingers on his robes.

"Oh, just something of equal value." he said nonchalantly. "A life, a body, or a soul... SOMETHING interesting..."

"You..." Sora growled.

"We'll make you a deal," Ash said suddenly. Everyone turned to him.

"I'm listening." Hades said, an eyebrow raised.

"A straight out fight." Ash stated. "No strings attached. If I win, we get Serah back."

Hades smirked. "And if you lose?"

"If I lose?" Ash asked. He closed his eyes for a moment. "You get my soul."

"Ash!" Sora exclaimed, alarmed.

"Don't do it!" Terra growled.

"Ash..." Lightning whispered.

"Hahaha!" Hades laughed. "You got yourself a deal, kid!" He snapped his fingers and everyone besides Ash and Hades were teleported into the stands. Everyone looked on helplessly as a wall of flames formed around the arena.

"Ash, get him!" Sora cried. Ash turned and gave his friends a thumbs up. Hades chuckled.

"You don't know what you've gotten youself into, kid." he said smirking. He manipulated the flames around them, causing them to lash out at Ash. Ash rolled forward, and charged at Hades. The Lord of the Dead disappeared, making Ash spin around and cast a Blizzara at a cloud of smoke that just appeared behind him. He heard a cry of pain as Hades was flung from the smoke. "Hmm, that's it." Hades tossed a fireball at him, while Ash casted Reflera. The fireball shattered the barrier, causing the shards to fly out and strike Hades. Ash used Quick Run to close in on Hades and begin a combo attack, ending in an Explosion. Hades fell to one knee.

"I win, Hades." Ash growled.

"Heh, I guess you did, kid." Hades smirked. Suddenly a fireball appeared in his hand, and he sent it right into Ash's chest at point-blank.

"Ash!" Ven cried as they watched him fly across the green pit and slam into a wall. Ash grit his teeth as he began seeing black spots.

"No..." Ash gasped as he lost consciousness. He slowly slid down the wall, into the pit of souls.

"Ash!" Sora cried as they rushed to the pit. They looked down to see him nowhere in sight. Behind them, Hades laughed.

"Monster!" Lightning snarled as she charged at him. Herc followed, his eyes narrowed. Auron silently followed, as did the others. Sora took one last glance at the pit and clenched his fist. He turned and joined the fray.

* * *

Ash groaned as he felt someone stroking his face. He blinked his eyes open to see a girl around his age bent over him. She had pink hair, a white sleeveless dress shirt and a red plaid skirt. "Are you okay?" she asked concerned.

"You... are you Serah?" Ash groaned as he attempted to sit up.

"Yes," she answered as she helped him. "who are you, and how do you know me?"

"I'm a friend of your sister's," Ash replied. She gasped.

"Éclair?" she asked. Ash blinked.

"Who?" he asked confused. Serah giggled. Ash glanced around they were in some kind of swirling green void. He could _feel _that it was solid, but it _looked _as though they were standing on nothing.

"Oh don't tell me she's going by that silly nickname!" she said, exasperated.

"Lightning?" Ash asked. Serah nodded.

"Her real name is Éclair Farron." she explained.

"Why did she change her name?" Ash asked. She shook her head.

"Only she knows." Serah answered.

"Oh," Ash muttered.

"So why are you down here?" Serah asked. "There was another girl who fell down here. Then a man came and saved her. I wish he had saved me as well..." she finished sadly.

"I was with your sister, trying to find you." Ash answered. "I made a deal with Hades. If I won our fight, he would set you free. If I lost, he got my soul. I won, but he tricked me and sent me down here."

"I'm so sorry..." she whispered. Ash looked at her. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen." she looked on the verge of tears.

"Don't cry." Ash said softly. "I don't know how, but I'll get us out of here."

"But-"

"Hey," Ash said smirking. "I'm a hero! Heroes always make it out okay!"

Serah giggled and wiped her eyes. "I suppose you're right..."

"Well," Ash said as he looked upward. "All we have to do is go up!"

"But how...?" she asked confused. Ash tapped his armor and enveloped in a bright light. Serah gasped as the light faded to reveal his armor-clad body. He summoned his Keyblades and tossed them into the air, where they too were engulfed in a bright light. Ash hopped onto his Keyblade Ride and turned back to the stunned girl.

"Hop on!" he said grinning. She smiled at him brightly.

"My knight in shining armor has arrived." she said giggling. Ash rolled his eyes. '_Why do they always say that?_' Serah hopped up behind him and held onto his waist.

"Hold on tight!" Ash said as he revved his bike. Serah tightened her grip and squeaked as the bike took off towards the exit.

* * *

Lightning was attacking Hades nonstop. Her eyes were furious. Not that the others' were any different. Hades teleported once again. "Fight, you coward!" Hercules cried.

"Aw, upset your little friend is gone?" Hades asked sarcastically. "Well too bad! He's not comin' back!"

"I wouldn't be too sure of that, Hades!" a familiar voice called out. Everyone turned to the pit in shock as an armored figure riding a flying motorbike flew from the pit.

"Ash!" Sora cried happily.

"You're okay!" Goofy exclaimed.

"I'm not the only one!" Ash replied. Everyone turned their attention to a pink haired girl sitting behind him.

"Hi!" she waved.

"Serah!" Lightning gasped. Ash fired a laser from the bike, sending Hades flying onto the cliff that held the pit.

"This... is... not... OVER!" Hades shouted as he slowly stepped back. "Whoa!" he exclaimed as he lost his balence and fell into the pit, screaming.

"And good riddance..." Ash muttered. He landed the bike and reverted his clothes back to normal as the bike disappeared.

"Ash!" Ven cried as he tackled him to the ground.

"Whoa!" Ash exclaimed. "Ven, get - oof!" He grunted as Sora joined the dogpile, followed by Terra, Donald and Goofy. Eventually Ash got his friends off of him, only for Donald to smack him in the head with his staff. "Ouch! What was that for?"

"Don't do it again!" the duck huffed.

"Yeah, you could have at _least _told us your plan first!" Sora accused.

"But _no_, you had to do it _your _way!" Terra continued.

"Alright, I get it!" Ash sighed. "What I did was reckless..."

While this was happening Serah and Lightning were reunited. Lightning rushed to her sister and embraced her. "Serah..."

"Éclair..." Serah whispered. "I'm sorry I caused so much trouble..."

Lightning shook her head. "None of this is your fault," she said firmly. "it was Hades fault, you were a victim."

"Thank you for coming to rescue me," Serah muttered.

"You're my sister, Serah." Lightning told her. "I love you, and I'll do anything to keep you safe."

Ash smiled at their reunion and turned to the others. "Guys?" he whispered. "I think we better give them some time." The others nodded and gave the sisters some space.

Donald turned to Auron. "What'cha gonna do now?"

"I lived my life defending others," Auron said quietly. "But now... there's no one left to protect..."

"Maybe it's time you did your own thing." Ven suggested.

"Yeah, like you said, 'this is your story' and you can do whatever you want with it." Terra told him.

"You bet," Sora nodded. "you deserve it, Auron - after everything you've been through."

Auron smirked. "I suppose I should thank you."

Sora beat his chest proudly. "Not at all."

Auron turned away. "Fine." Everyone fell over.

"I mean, sure," Sora muttered as they stood back up. "you could thank us... a little..."

"You should say what you mean," Auron said, amused. He turned back to them. "I guess I could spare a few words." he smirked again. "Thanks for meddling." They all fell over again.

"Hey, what's that mean?" Ven cried. Auron smirked as he walked away from them and up the steps towards Olympus Coliseum. Ash grinned until he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. He turned and was shocked into silence when he felt two arms wrap around him. Everyone watched in stunned silence as they watch Lightning embrace Ash.

"Ash..." she whispered. "Thank you. For everything."

"Don't mention it," he leaned in and whispered in her ear. "Éclair." He smirked as she blushed at the use of her real name.

"Serah told you?" she muttered. Ash nodded and she released him, only for another person to take her place.

"Thanks, Ash." Serah said happily. She stood on her tippy toes and kissed him on the cheek. She giggled as he blushed scarlet. Lightning's eye twitched, which Serah noticed, causing her to grin widely. Serah then whispered in his ear. "Thanks for making Éclair open up to you. She needs a friend."

"N - no problem." he said. "So what are you going to do now?" he asked both of them.

"We'll probably stay here for awhile." Lightning answered. "Then we'll head home."

"I see, well what do you say we get out of this creepy place?" Ash asked. Everyone nodded and made their way up the steps to the Coliseum.

* * *

They walked up into the Coliseum. The stars glittered in the night sky. They saw Hercules talking with Meg and walked up to them. "Thanks again, guys." Herc said gratefully. "You're the best."

"Excuse us for meddling..." Donald muttered, still not over what Auron said.

"Aw, looks like someone's feathers are a little ruffled." Meg teased him. Donald ignored her. "I'm kidding. Thank you, Sora, Donald, Goofy, Ash, Terra, Ven and Lightning. I'm happy that you found your sister, Lightning."

Lightning nodded as she and Serah moved closer together.

"So where you guys headed next?" Herc asked.

"Aw, you know..." Sora said smirking. "You two lovebirds seem to be getting along just fine without us hanging around." Herc and Meg glanced at each other before jumping away in embarrassment.

"Yeah, we gotta go!" Donald exclaimed.

"As it turns out," Terra said as he wrapped an arm around Ash's shoulders. "Ash has to go find _his _sister, too!"

"Hey, that's right!" Sora said grinning. Ash groaned.

"How could I have forgotten about that?" he muttered.

"Really?" Serah asked. "I hope you find her. Just make sure to come visit! My sister here will be just miserable if you don't."

"Serah..." Lightning said in warning. Serah lowered her voice to speak with her sister alone.

"I gotta say, sis," she whispered. "you sure now how to pick 'em. He's brave, strong, and _cute_!"

"Serah!" Lightning hissed, her cheeks reddening slightly.

"Hey!" a voice called. They all turned to see Phil striding up to them. "Are you turkeys trying to put me out of a job! If you keep acing every challenge, Champ, who am I gonna train?"

"Aw, you can't abandon me now, Phil!" Herc complained. "I gotta be at the top of my game in case Hades shows up again!"

Donald ran up in Phil's face. "Hey!" he cried. "Are we true heroes yet?"

"Yeah, c'mon, Phil!" Sora said excitedly.

"Lemme see now..." Phil said as he examined their faces. "Well, you're not wise enough..." he muttered, making them glare at him. "Not quite seasoned enough..."

"Okay, okay, we get the hint!" Sora exclaimed. Ash walked up to them.

"Aw, c'mon Phil!" Ash said. "They've worked hard! And look at all they've done so far!"

"I dunno kid..." Phil began. Terra and Ven walked up to them.

"Come on, Phil!" Ven encouraged.

"I don't see why they can't be heroes." Terra added.

"You two, as well?" Phil asked.

"C'mon, Phil!" Sora exclaimed as he and Donald began chasing the satyr around.

"See that?" Meg gasped, pointing at the sky.

"Well whaddaya know?" Herc muttered. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to the sky. Everyone gasped as they saw the stars re-arranging themselves into the forms of Sora, Donald, Goofy, Ash, Terra and Ven. Sora whooped in glee as Donald and Goofy held hands, dancing in a circle. Ash stood with Terra and Ven, the three stood smiling at the sky.

"I wish Aqua were here to see this." Ven said sadly. Ash and Terra each put a hand on one of his shoulders.

"We'll find her." Ash assured him.

"And then we'll rub it in her face." Terra said smirking. Ven grinned at them.

"Yeah," he said as the Gummi Ship began beaming them up. "We will."

* * *

**A/N: I don't know why this one took so long. Yeesh. I think I'm starting to get kinda lazy. BTW I wanted to let you know why I chose the two new worlds. Duelist Kingdom because Yu-Gi-Oh belongs to 4kids, just like Pokemon. And Hyrule because the Legend of Zelda belongs to Nintendo. Just like Pokemon.**


	29. The 13th Reflection

**A/N: Warning! This Chapter will contain strong language. This Chapter is more violent as well. You may find this Chapter a little over-dramatic as well. You have been warned.**

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* * *

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"Oh yeah!" Sora cheered. "We're heroes!"

"Boy, oh boy!" Donald said happily.

"I guess all that hard work payed off after all!" Goofy agreed.

"So where to next?" Ven asked. Sora looked at the monitors.

"Looks like Port Royal is coming up." he replied.

"Oh boy," Terra muttered. "more of that pirate guy, what's his face?"

"Jack Sparrow," Ash answered. Ven quickly got excited.

"Pirates?" he asked.

"You'll see..." Terra sighed.

"C'mon, let's go!" Ven ordered. Sora complied and piloted the ship towards Port Royal.

* * *

The sextet landed in the ramparts. They heard a commotion in the distance. "That's comin' from the port." Goofy exclaimed.

"Let's check it out!" Ash said. The others nodded and followed him down the steps towards the docks. Upon arriving they stumbled upon Jack being chased by zombie pirates.

"Jack!" Sora exclaimed. Jack glanced at them.

"Er, Zola! Some assistance!" he requested.

"That's SORA!" the brown haired boy snapped.

"Will ye leave a mate to perish?" Jack pleaded.

"Aye aye..." Sora muttered. They quickly got to work and destroyed the undead pirates.

"What the heck was that?" Ven demanded. "Were those zombies?"

"Those pirates were cursed." Sora explained.

"By Aztec gold," Ash continued. "but didn't we get all of it back?"

"Yeah, what gives?" Terra asked crossing his arms.

"Some scallywag must've gotten greedy." Jack suggested. They all turned to him. "Oh, I see. You don't trust me, do you?" They all nodded. "Likely a wise choice, mate. I AM a pirate."

"Jack, Sora, Ash, Terra!" a familiar voice called out. They all turned to see Elizabeth rushing over to them.

"Elizabeth?" Sora questioned. Jack got a strange look on his face a made to leave.

"Wait, Jack!" Elizabeth cried. "I need your help!" Jack sighed and stopped to hear her out. "The cursed pirates have returned. Will had to find out why... so he went to Isla de Muerta - to check on the Aztec Treasure."

"By himself?" Ash exclaimed. Elizabeth nodded sadly.

"I fear something's happened." she whispered. "You have to take me to him!"

Jack turned to face her. "Aye, there it is." he said. "If you'll be wantin' him rescued, best do it alone, lass."

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "Alone?" she questioned. "Really, Jack? Sail to the island and take on the cursed pirates?"

Jack shrugged. "Well if any lass could..."

"Are you sure he's in trouble?" Sora cut in. She shook her head.

"No. Not certain. But he's been gone too long." she explained. "I wanted to go with him, but he insisted I stay here. I can't just sit and wait! I've got to know if he's alright."

"Lucky man..." Jack muttered.

"Please, Jack. Take me to him." Elizabeth pleaded.

"Hold a moment." Jack said, raising his index finger. "I see no profit in it for me."

"I shall reward you, of course." Elizabeth said. "You do owe Will. He saved your life before."

Jack flinched. "Right. Shall we?"

Elizabeth smiled. "Thank you, Jack."

"Okay, let's get going!" Sora ordered. With that the octet made their way to the Black Pearl.

* * *

As they sailed across the ocean, Ven was scurrying around the deck in excitement. "This is so cool!" he exclaimed. It was not long before Sora was pulled into the excitement as well as the two began pretending they were pirates. Ash and Terra were sitting on a couple of boxes, watching them.

Terra shook his head. "It still amazes me how they can act like little kids."

Ash shrugged. "Hey, we're all still young." he reasoned. "We should enjoy it while we can."

Terra looked at him in surprise. "I guess so."

Ash smirked at Terra. He reached behind him and pulled out two sticks. Terra caught on and was smirking right back. He took one of them and the two made their way over to the two younger boys. Sora and Ven were currently pretending to have a sword fight. "Take that!" Ven cried as he 'stabbed' Sora. Sora clutched his 'wound' and fell to his knees.

"Avast, ye scurvy dogs!" Ash shouted. The two looked up to see Ash and Terra stalking towards them with stick in their hands. The two boys looked at each other.

"Uh oh..." they muttered. Terra and Ash charged at them. Sora ran towards the pile of boxes, looking for some kinds of weapon, while Ven ran from them. Sora found two sticks and hurled one at Ven.

"Let's do this, bucko." Ven said to Sora. They grinned at each other and met Ash and Terra head-on. Above them, Jack watched in amusement. Donald shook his head and smirked at their game. Elizabeth giggled slightly and entered the cabin. Goofy sat on the boxes and looked out at the sea.

Somehow, their swordfight had turned into an all out wrestling match. The four of them rolled around on the deck until they lay in a circle, tired, but happy. "That was fun." Sora sighed.

"Yeah," Ash agreed.

"Oi, you lads done yet?" Jack called. The four quickly stood and brushed themselves off. Goofy glanced at them before looking at the sea once more. His eyes bugged out.

"Interceptor off the starboard bow!" he shouted. The others quickly ran to the edge of the ship to see another ship.

"Will!" Elizabeth shouted, spotting his unconscious body leaning on the edge of the ship. Jack stood in mournful silence with a hand over his chest.

"Stop that, Jack!" Elizabeth scolded. "We've got to rescue him!" Terra and Ash went towards the boxes once more and found a long plank of wood. They dragged it over and connected the two ships. The two boys proceeded to cross over to the other ship and carry Will's body to the Black Pearl.

"Bring him to the cabin." Elizabeth ordered. The two boys complied and the group made their way into the cabin. "Will, wake up!" She exclaimed after they had placed him on the floor. She took his head in her lap as he began to stir.

"Elizabeth..." he whispered.

"What happened?" she asked.

"The medallions…and…the stone chest—someone's taken them…next thing I knew, we were attacked but I couldn't see who it was—his face was shrouded…in a black hood," Will murmured.

"The Organization," Sora muttered and Ash, Terra, Ven, Donald, and Goofy nodded in agreement.

"We found a way out of the cave but the villain said a hoard of terrible creatures after us…I've never seen their likes before. I think I was the only who made it back to the ship," Will explained.

"Will," Elizabeth breathed.

"Elizabeth…I feel rather…" Will began but immediately passed out before he could get the words out.

Sora looked at them all. "Our turn, guys."

Elizabeth stood and turned to them. "You'd best go prepared. We've no idea what's out there!"

"Pardon me, lads and lass," Jack cut in. "But your captain will have no monsters today. Thank ye, we're turning for home." With that said he turned on his heel and strode out of the room.

"Just like that?" Elizabeth asked incredulously.

"Just like that!" he called back.

Jack opened the doors and scowled before saying, "Don't remember invitin' you." Right on cue, a man in a black cloak walked out from the Corridor of Darkness.

"So it was the Organization, we'll handle this," said Sora, whipping out his Keyblade with everyone else hastily following suit.

The man gestured to a chest beside him. They all gasped, seeing it was the cursed Aztec gold. "The darkness of men's hearts - drawn to these accursed medallions; and this Heartless - a veritable maelstrom of avarice." he said in an English accent, just as a giant Heartless appeared on deck. "I wonder, are they worthy to serve Organization XIII? What do you think, Xhäs?"

"What are you planning, Luxord?" Ash asked slowly. Luxord smirked under his hood and snapped his fingers.

"And you want an answer now?" Jack asked.

"Precisely." Luxord said as he disappeared through the Corridor of Darkness. Everyone fell into combat with the Heartless and let loose with some air combos. Sora used Magnet to draw it in closer while Ash, Terra and Ven attacked. Jack was blasting it away with his bombs while Goofy charged in with his shield. Donald hung back, using various magic. After a few minutes of combat, the Heartless fell and the team claimed victory.

"Oh boy!" Donald cheered, clearly pleased with what they had done.

"It's not over yet," Terra warned, turning back to face the member of Organization XIII.

He brought down his hood to reveal short blond hair, blue eyes, earrings on his ears and a goatee.

"Throw him overboard!" Jack declared boldly, his sword pointed at Luxord.

"Aye aye!" Sora agreed. Luxord smirked.

"Parley!" he called.

"'Scuse me?" Jack asked.

"Barley?" Goofy asked, confused.

"It's a bit of a pirates' code, anyone who invokes 'Parley' must not be harmed 'til negotiations are complete," Jack explained

"This is no time for rules!" Sora shouted incredulously and everyone else nodded in agreement.

"True, but as we are honorable pirates, we must always stick to the code," he said to Sora before turning to Luxord and saying, "Alright you, out with it!"

"I surrender the chest with my humblest apologies," said Luxord.

"Rather accommodating of you mate, and for that you want…?" Jack said uncertainly before Luxord replied, taking a few medallions, "Just a few souvenirs, for the memories." Luxord threw the medallions in the air and four Gambler Nobodies snatched them, disappearing.

"Oh no! We can't stop the curse unless we got all the medallions!" Goofy exclaimed as they vanished.

"Our friend's about to learn what it means when you cross a pirate," said Jack venomously.

"Oh?" Luxord challenged as they heard a loud THUD and the heartless that they had just defeated rose from the water and with a powerful gust of wind forced the septet off the Pearl and onto the Interceptor. The Pearl's cannons aimed at them. "Fire!" Luxord shouted. As one the cannons fired, striking the Interceptor and causing heavy damage.

Will and Elizabeth burst out of the captain's room only to see cannon fire and the Interceptor falling apart. Luxord chuckled as the Pearl sailed away from the wreckage that was once the Interceptor.

* * *

Ash groaned as he pushed himself off the ground. He looked around to see that the ship was destroyed. His friends were all unconscious, but they were lucky to not have been separated. Sora groaned and Ash helped him up. The others began rousing as well. Jack stepped out of the shadows, and transformed into a skeleton. "Whoa!" Ven exclaimed jumping back.

"You stole a medallion again?" Sora asked incredulously.

"Were I only that fortunate," Jack said.

"Fortunate?" Donald asked, looking him over.

"How come you're all skeleton-y?" Goofy asked.

"Perhaps I got a touch o' somethin' from that monster that attacked us," Jack suggested as he began thinking about it. "Yet why's the skin resting right on you six?" he asked.

"Cause we're not greedy!" Donald said, puffing up his chest. The others looked at the duck skeptically. "What're you looking at?"

Everyone quickly looked away from Donald. "That still doesn't solve the mystery." Sora said thoughtfully. Jack turned away from them and stepped into the shadows, causing his skin to reappear.

"Gawrsh, maybe the reason we're all okay is because we're not from this world!" Goofy whispered to them.

"There must be different laws," Donald agreed.

"Yeah," Sora nodded. "we're always just passing through..."

Ash sighed sadly. "I wonder when we'll all see home again..." Sora, Terra and Ven all nodded in agreement. Ash left to go talk to Jack. Sora watched him go

"I... kinda feel bad," he said quietly.

"About what?" Donald questioned.

"Well," Sora continued. "all of us have somewhere to go back to... but..."

"But Ash doesn't..." Terra finished for him. Sora nodded.

"His world was consumed by the darkness..." he muttered.

"That's not fair!" Ven exclaimed. Sora looked at Ash, who was having a conversation with Jack at the moment.

"I'll help him." Sora said. They turned to him. "I'll help him find it."

Terra nodded. "We all will."

"Yeah, that's what friends do!" Ven cheered.

"Quit yammerin', mates!" Jack shouted. They turned to see Jack and Ash waiting for them on the rocks. The three Keybladers nodded to each other before rushing off to join them.

"We have to find a working ship." Ash informed them. "Jack says there's gotta be something around here that'll float."

They ran, ignoring the cursed pirates, as they were not the main concern right now. They made it out of the maze of wrecked ships and into a small peninsula. "Look!" Donald cried, pointing at something. They followed his gaze to see a Gambler juggling cards and a golden coin.

"A medallion, get it!" Jack exclaimed. Terra and Ven quickly defeated the Nobody, and Jack picked the coin up. "Three more to go."

"How do you know?" Sora asked confused.

"A pirate must have a keen eye; else he won't bee sailin' free for very long, savvy?" Jack explained.

The group heard a ship approaching and they saw the Black Pearl coming into view with Elizabeth shouting, "Ahoy Mateys!"

"A ridiculous imitation," Jack muttered. "and yet, I'm flattered." The septet quickly boarded the Black Pearl.

"Jack, what happened?" Elizabeth asked in shock. "This is horrible!"

"Ah, but who's to blame for it, eh?" Jack asked.

"It certainly isn't Elizabeth!" Will said defensively.

"It's Organization XIII." Sora answered. "They're the ones behind it all."

"Wonder where they went," Goofy mused.

"The hooded man took the pirates and his creatures with him into some strange hole." Will told them. "We saw them leaving from the captain's stateroom,"

"Didn't occur to you to fight them, mate?" Jack asked, frowning slightly.

"I'm no fool, I knew that I was no match for them," Will replied tersely.

"That I believe," said Jack.

"Sora, Ash, Terra, I think we'll need your help," Will said. The group nodded.

"No problem, I'm Ven by the way." the blonde said cheerfully.

"It's nice to meet you." Elizabeth said kindly.

"First, let's find all the medallions." Will suggested. "Otherwise, the curse can't be broken and the creatures will remain invincible."

"Let's try the Isla de Muerta." Terra suggested. Jack nodded and they set sail.

* * *

The ship landed and the septet stepped off into the Isla de Muerta. "There's gotta be a Nobody around here somewhere..." Ash muttered.

"Look!" Ven cried. They all followed his gaze to see a Gambler floating away from them.

"Get it!" Terra shouted as they took off after it. Ash was about to follow when he felt a creeping feeling go down his spine. He spun around to see a dark sphere with a picture of three knives. It was sparking with electricity.

"An Absent Silhouette..." Ash muttered. Suddenly he felt a force begin pulling him in. '_Fine...'_ Ash steeled himself and charged right into the portal. The portal closed behind him.

When Ash opened his eyes he found he was standing on a pure white platform. It was the Station of Remembrance, and before him stood a familiar blond woman. "Larxene..."

"Hi there, Xhäsy-poo." she said in a tone of false innocence. Her 'innocent' smile turned into a sadistic grin. Ash braced himself and summoned his Keyblades. "Let's see how much stronger you've gotten now that you've joined with your _precious _Somebody!" She summoned her knives as she began giggling. Suddenly the entire area darkened as lightning struck the ground, making a beeline for him. Ash used his Quick Run to dodge the lightning bolts when he suddenly found himself surrounded. Ash leapt into the air using High Jump just in time, as Larxene and her clones sliced the air where he had just been standing. The clones disappeared, leaving only two Larxenes. Ash grabbed on by the wrist and flung her into the air. He hooked onto the other with his Oathkeeper and flung her into her copy, forcing her to merge.

Ash winced as he felt lightning strike him. Suddenly there were five beams of lightning closing in around him. He quickly casted Reflera to shield himself. The shield shattered, sending the shards at Larxene, which she deflected with her knives. Ash reached into his pocket and grasped something. Dark Magician Girl appeared beside him, ready for combat.

"Found yourself another blonde bitch, huh?" Larxene snarled. Dark glared at her and they began their magic flurry.

"Damn it, Larxene!" Ash cursed as he and Dark began charging their final attack. "Why does it have to be like this?"

"Shut the hell up, traitor!" Larxene shouted as she struck Dark with her four different lightning bolts, forcing her to disappear. She followed up by creating a wall of lightning which began moving towards Ash. He saw that there was no way to dodge and set up a hasty Reflera. The shield shattered upon impact, but the lightning still struck him. Ash quickly casted Cura on himself. Larxene was too busy deflecting shards to stop him. Ash used an Ether and quickly sent two Blizzard spells at her before sending a more powerful Blizzara. The first two truck her in the arm and leg, while the Blizzara struck her in the chest.

"Damn you!" Larxene cried as she flung her knives at him. Ash twirled his Keyblades to deflect them, however, one managed to strike his leg. Ash hissed in pain as he attempted to pull the knife out. This proved to be the only opening Larxene needed, and she quickly tackled him to the ground as she pinned herself on top of him. His Keyblades slid away from him and Larxene held a knife over his heart. "Any last words?" she asked, her eyes filled with glee. Ash noticed something else in her eyes. Hesitation.

"Don't do this, Xene..." Ash whispered. Her eyes flickered to his.

"And why shouldn't I?" she asked as she grabbed his hair, pulling his head back to expose his throat. She placed one of her knives at his windpipe.

"You were my best friend, Xene..." Ash whispered. "Heck, deep down... you still kind of are." The glee was fading from her eyes, letting the hesitation show freely.

"But..." she whispered. Her eyes hardened. "No... _no_..." she quickly got off of him. "Get up. I want to kill you while you stand."

"Xene..." Ash muttered.

"I said get up!" she screamed. Ash glared at her and stood up, summoning his Keyblades once more. She pointed at his heart with one of her knives. "Right there. That's where this is going." She charged at him, slashing at him with her knives. Ash backsteped to avoid her slashes. Most of them were aimed at his heart, but they would occasionally attempt to strike elsewhere. Ash leaned his head back as she almost slashed his throat open. He flipped back and hurled Oblivion at her. There was no way to deflect it without injuring herself, forcing her to dodge. Ash used Quick Run to make his way behind her. Everything slowed down as she turned to him, her eyes wide. She looked down to see Oathkeeper embedded in her stomach. Ash pulled it out and flicked the blood off.

Ash caught her before she could hit the ground. "Xene..."

She looked up at him. Her eyes no longer showed malice, only sorrow and regret. "Xhäs..."

"Why?" Ash asked.

"When... we were together..." she said weakly. "You... you made me... made me _feel_. You made me feel like I had a heart."

"Xene..." Ash whispered. "I had no idea..."

"And then..." she continued. "you went and broke it... My false heart." Ash grasped her hand in support. "I went into depression, then all I could feel was hatred. I tried to make you feel the same way, so I attacked you..." she was beginning to fade now. "Xhäs... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." A lone tear slid down her cheek.

"Shh..." Ash shushed her as he wiped the tear away. "I'm sorry, too, Xene. I'm sorry I did this to you..." She let out a small gasp as Ash's eyes turned crimson for the briefest of moments.

"Xhäs..." she whispered. "Just once... please..." Ash understood what she meant. He took a deep, shuddering breath and kissed her. It was light and fleeting, but it meant the world to her. "Good-bye..." she whispered as she took one last breath. She faded from Ash's arms.

Ash stared at the empty air that he was grasping, hoping beyond hope that this wasn't happening. He looked to the sky and did the one thing he could do. He screamed. He screamed for the lost friendship. For the unrequited love the Larxene had for Xhäs. He screamed for Larxene, the Savage Nymph. He screamed for Relena, his best friend. Ash barely noticed as a portal opened behind him. A blonde girl wearing a white sundress stepped out.

"Ash..." she whispered. "I'm sorry."

"I killed her, Naminé..." Ash whispered. "I killed my best friend." He felt her embrace him from behind. He the needed comfort she provided and leaned into her.

"I'm sorry," she repeated. "It had to be done..."

"I know..." Ash said quietly. "But it's still hard..." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself. He stood, making Naminé do the same. He turned around and hugged her, which she happily returned. "It's good to see you again, Naminé."

"I'm happy you recognize me." she said, beaming at him. Ash, despite himself, laughed.

"We'll meet again, even if we don't recognize each other." he repeated the words he spoke over a year ago. She nodded.

"I kept those words with me." Naminé said. "You finally did it. After all the years you searched, you finally found your other." Ash nodded.

"And I'm happy I did." he said. Naminé looked down.

"I plan on doing the same." she said quietly. "Just like you and Roxas."

"Well, I hope you find her." Ash said. Naminé smiled mysteriously.

"I can bring you back to Port Royal." she offered. Ash nodded.

"I'd appreciate that."

Naminé nodded and stepped away from him. She smiled. "This is the second time I've had to take you somewhere."

Ash blinked. "Huh?"

Naminé giggled. "What, you thought you just randomly showed up in Twilight Town?"

Ash smiled at her. "So that was _you_!" he exclaimed. "Well, I guess I should do as the note said! Thank you, Naminé."

She smiled at him warmly. "You're very welcome." he turned and opened a portal. "I'll see you again."

Ash stepped towards the portal and looked at her. "I meant it, Naminé." he said. "Thank you. For everything." With that he stepped into the portal.

Naminé smiled as the portal closed. She turned and opened a new portal. "You're welcome, big brother."

* * *

**A/N: I hope you guys liked this one. I know I enjoyed writing it. We'll finish up Port Royal next Chapter. Mainly because it is currently 3:30 in the morning, and I need to crash. As Rikku would say, Later taters!**


	30. Port Royal

Sora, Donald, Goofy, Terra and Ven were searching frantically. Jack was searching as well, but was not panicking like the others were. They were searching for their missing friend, Ash. "Where is he?" Terra growled. Suddenly a dark portal opened before them. They all readied themselves for an attack by the Organization. They all nearly dropped their weapons in shock when Ash stepped out of it.

"Hey, everyone." They all noticed that his voice seemed heavier, and not as cheerful as before.

"Where have you been?" Donald demanded. Ash didn't answer. In fact, he seemed upset about something.

"Hey, is everything okay?" Sora asked. Ash shook his head to clear his thoughts. He smiled lazily at them.

"As okay as it can be." Ash answered. "So what have I missed?" They looked at him strangely, but figured he needed space right now.

"We've got all four medallions." Ven exclaimed.

"Cool." Ash said smiling. The septet boarded the Black Pearl.

"But where's the chest?" Jack asked. Will and Elizabeth met them on the deck.

"If we find the hooded man," Will began. "we find _it_."

"Probably in Port Royal." Terra suggested.

"Why's that?" Elizabeth asked. Sora looked up at her.

"Organization XIII is after people's hearts." he explained. "So they're gonna go where there's lots of people."

"They'll hurt the townsfolk?" Will asked concerned.

"No, they'll be bringin' 'em flowers, mate." Jack said sarcastically. "I don't know who these Organizers are, but I will say they're makin' we pirates look like proper gents." he finished angrily. He began climbing the steps to get to the steering wheel.

"Well, Jack..." Will said. "then... we have to help!"

"Then let go and haul to run free!" he shouted. Ash blinked.

"I don't get this pirate talk..." he muttered. The others nodded in agreement as they prepared to set sail. Ash took one of the ropes of the ship.

"Ash!" He turned to see Sora walking over to him. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Ash let out a sigh. "I'm not sure, Sora."

"Why don't you take a break." Sora suggested. "You're looking a little worse for wear."

"He's right, Ash." Terra said as he and Ven walked over. Ven noticed something.

"Ash, are you bleeding?" he asked incredulously. The others followed his gaze.

"What happened?" Sora asked as he casted Cure on him.

"I... had a little run in with the Organization." Ash admitted.

"Really?" Ven asked. "Was it that blonde guy, Luxord?"

Ash shook his head. "No, it was someone else."

"Well, now I know you need to rest." Sora said crossing his arms. "If you took on an Organization member by yourself."

"Ash?" They turned to see Elizabeth standing there. "If you need to rest, you can use the cabin." she said kindly.

"But we -"

"No 'buts'." Sora said as he pushed him towards the cabin. Ash sighed.

"Alright, come get me when we land or if something happens." With that, he entered the Captain's Cabin. Ash took a chair and leaned against the wall. He closed his eyes and let the sounds of the waves lull him to sleep.

* * *

Ash sat hugging his knees as Aqua talked about this beach that she found in the Dark Realm. "It's so beautiful here," Aqua said. "I could just sit there forever watching the waves. Not that I'd _want_ to stay there forever but -" She froze when she heard a muffled sob. She turned to see that Ash was facing away from her, hugging himself. "Ash?" He didn't answer her. She knew he was crying, though and walked over to him. Silently, she wrapped her arms around him, pressing her cheek against his back. "What happened?"

He stayed silent for a few moments, wiping his eyes. "I killed her, Aqua." he said in a hoarse tone.

"Who?" Aqua asked softly.

"Larxene," he whispered. "she was my best friend and I killed her."

Aqua sighed. "Start from the beginning." Ash did as she instructed and told her everything. His voice wavered at some points, and she tightened her hold on him in support. He ended his story with the kiss that he gave her.

"I'm sorry I betrayed you, Aqua..." Ash whispered.

"Oh, Ash..." Aqua sighed. She got up and moved repositioned herself so she was in front of him. She cupped his face and looked into his eyes. "It's fine, Ash. I understand."

"But -" she placed a finger on his lips.

"You wanted her to be happy in her last moments." she said. "You couldn't have said no. Hey, I would have been mad if you _denied_ her."

Ash smiled at her and she smiled back. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him. She obliged and sat between his legs, wrapping her arms around his neck. Ash chuckled nervously as she nibbled his neck, a blush making its way to his cheeks. She glanced at him and smiled. "You're so cute when you blush." she whispered into his ear. He scowled at her playfully and nipped her ear.

"Back at you," he whispered back. "Thank you, Aqua."

"Of course." she said with a soft sigh. "Looks like it's time..."

"I hate how little time we have," Ash said frowning.

"We just have to make the time we _do_ have something to remember," she replied with a smile. "I'll see you soon."

* * *

Ash awoke cursing and soaking wet. He glared in the direction of laughter and found Sora and Ven standing there with an empty bucket. Terra was leaning against the wall smirking. "You could have shaken me awake!" Ash snapped.

"But that's no fun!" Ven said grinning. Ash strode up to them and began shaking like a dog. He looked up with a satisfied smile as the three boys glared at him. Ash chuckled as they wiped the water from their faces. Sora looked at him.

"So you feelin' better now?" he asked.

"You bet." Ash nodded.

"Good, 'cause we just docked." another voice said. They turned to see Jack standing in the doorway. "Best get movin', lads. Those Organizers won't take care of themselves."

"Aye aye." the said in unison. Jack smirked and walked out. The others followed behind him.

The septet, along with Will, quickly disembarked and ran towards the town. They were stopped, however, when a familiar Heartless appeared, only white instead of purple. "Didn't we take that thing down?" Ash asked. He glanced and saw the chest behind the Heartless. Jack apparently noticed this as well.

"Go!" he ordered. "He's for me." He took off, making the Heartless follow. They nodded and ran towards the chest.

"Now to break that curse." Sora declared as he dropped the coins back into the chest. They watched as the Heartless returned to its normal shade.

"The curse is gone!" Donald cheered. Jack looked at himself. He was still a skeleton.

"Then what's this?" he asked.

"Aw, I understand!" Goofy exclaimed. "Jack must've been cursed by that monster, not from the gold!" Everyone turned to him in shock.

"Goofy can be really perceptive..." Terra muttered.

"Oh, I've got no worries, then." Jack said sarcastically.

"It's okay, Jack!" Sora cried. "We'll just have to defeat the monster, that's all!"

"Yeah, it wasn't so tough last time!" Ven added. As though taking offense to that, the Heartless charged at them. They all jumped out of the way, causing the Heartless to strike the chest, sending coins flying everywhere.

"Get the gold!" Jack shouted as the Heartless turned into a zombie once more.

"Remember, guys!" Ash said as he summoned his Keyblades. "Magic!"

"Got it!" Sora said as he casted Thundara, making the zombie lose gold. Ven swooped in and picked them up before tossing them back into the chest.

"Terra and Ash, guard the chest!" Jack ordered as he and the others charged at the now vulnerable Heartless. Ash and Terra moved towards the chest, casting Thundara and Blizzara at the Heartless. Suddenly the Heartless disappeared in a small tornado.

"Guys, behind you!" Sora shouted. Terra and Ash spun around to see the Heartless stealing gold from the chest.

"Oh no you don't!" Ash growled as he leapt at the Heartless, grabbing kicking it in the face before slashing it with Oathkeeper, sending it into the air. Terra grabbed the axe that the Heartless had dropped and twirled it around, catching the little ghouls that were flying around them before hurling it at the Heartless. Ven grabbed the coins and replaced them while Sora entered Valor Form, attacking the Heartless with ferocity. Eventually the Heartless was subdued. It dropped its axe and reached out to them before collapsing on the ground.

Jack looked at his hands, relieved to find flesh instead of bone. He kissed his hand. "All better." Sora said smirking.

"Not quite, mate." Jack said as they watch Luxord appear and take the captive heart that the Heartless held.

"Bravo." was all that Luxord said as he disappeared in a black portal. Jack turned to his companions.

"Just who was that chap?" he asked.

"He's part of an Organization that's collecting hearts." Ash explained.

"First, they release Heartless into different worlds." Sora continued. "We defeat those Heartless, then they get the hearts."

Terra shook his head. "We're never going to stop them like this."

"What's the plan then?" Jack asked as Will and Elizabeth approached them.

"We've gotta find their stronghold and finish them off, once and for all." Sora answered.

"Salin' these waters, I've heard some tales, but not a one like this." Jack commented.

"Is there any way we can help?" Will asked.

"Anything at all." Elizabeth urged. Jack smirked.

"There is."

* * *

"Alright, one, two, THREE!" Ash shouted as he and Terra tossed the chest overboard. Everyone watched as the Aztec gold sank to the bottom of the ocean. Jack turned to them.

"It's certain we don't need the likes of that hooded fellow and the Heartless about." he told them. "They'll ruin the market for us true pirates."

"So _that's _why you went to Port Royal." Elizabeth accused. "And we thought you actually wanted to save everyone."

"A pirate always looks to profit, Miss Swann." Jack said.

"Too bad." Sora commented. "You had us going there, thinking you turned over a new leaf."

"The question is, what's behind the leaf?" Jack asked. "Savvy?" He looked at Elizabeth expectantly.

"Oh... oh, yes - a reward." Elizabeth said nervously. "And what'll it be?"

"That lovely blade of Sora's." Jack declared, pointing at the Keyblade. Everyone blinked in surprise. Sora turned to his friends, who smirked. He smirked right back and turned back to Jack.

"Alright, fine." he said as he held the blade out to Jack.

The pirate looked at him suspiciously. "Hold on, that was far too easy." he muttered. "What's the rub?" He walked over and took the Keyblade, admiring it. He jumped when it began vibrating and disappeared, only to reappear in Sora's hand. "There, you see?"

Sora shrugged. "Well, you've always got the Pearl, Jack."

"That I do." the pirate agreed. He turned back to Sora. "But someday, I'll get a blood-thirsty crew, and come to take that blade. Chance by then, I'll have a way to wield it."

"Is that a threat?" Ash asked smirking. Jack smirked back. He turned to Will and Elizabeth.

"And if I succeed, I'll ask you two to join me." he declared. "That'd be reward enough."

"Done." Elizabeth replied, smiling. Will looked at her incredulously.

Goofy turned to Donald. "Maybe someday, Jack'll be able to use the Keyblade after all."

"Why's that?" the duck asked confused.

"A-hyuk! He and Sora are kind of alike, dontcha think?" he asked.

"Are not!" Jack and Sora replied in unison, both sounding a bit offended. They looked at each other incredulously as everyone began to laugh.

* * *

"Some say Jack Sparrow's the worst pirate ever to sail the Spanish Main." Will commented as they all watched the Black Pearl sail away.

"No one could really mean that." Elizabeth replied.

"Right." Will agreed nodding. "We know he's the best."

"I hope we'll get to see him again." Sora said.

"I'm sure we will." Ash told him. Terra nodded.

"Things have a funny way of working out like that." he muttered as he looked at the ship. The full moon hung above, giving the Black Pearl an almost ethereal appearance.

"Yeah, we'll see you again, Jack." Ven said as the Gummi Ship beamed them up.

* * *

**A/N: Chapter was kinda short, but oh well. That's what happens when I break a world into two parts. I'd like to thank everyone that's been following the story so far. It means a lot to me when I read your reviews, so thanks again! Now, I'd best be off, savvy?**


	31. Halloween Town

**A/N: I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long! I watched a few episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist and I got hooked! Not only that, but I started playing WoW again, so I completely forgot about this! Sorry!**

**

* * *

**

"Alright, now that _that_ ghost story is done," Ash said with a sigh. "Where to next?"

"Look's like we're coming up on Halloween Town," Terra observed. Ash grinned.

"Maybe Santa's made up his mind about me," he said hopefully. Ven's eyes lit up.

"Santa?" he repeated. Sora grinned.

"You bet!" he said excitedly.

"Well what are we waiting for than?" Ven exclaimed. "Let's go!"

* * *

The quintet arrived in the Hinterlands and looked around. There were Christmas presents scattered throughout the area. Ash took a glance at Ven to see that he was zombie, complete with tattered clothing.

"What's with all the presents?" Terra asked confused. As though on cue, Jack Skellington, wearing his Santa suit came around the bend, arms loaded with presents. He looked up and waved at them happily.

"Perfect timing, gentlemen!" he called as he picked up one of the presents. "Lend me a hand, won't you?" Jack walked over to them to avoid having to shout. "These presents must belong to Sandy Claws."

"Sandy Claws?" Ven whispered.

"He means Santa," Ash whispered back. Ven looked at him.

"What are you supposed to be?" he asked confused. Ash shrugged.

"I'm not sure; just don't ask "Who's there?" Ash blinked. Ven looked at him questioningly. '_What was that about?'_

Ash and Ven were brought back to reality when they heard Jack continue. "So I thought I'd better return them." he explained.

Sora looked at Jack strangely, while Terra crossed his arms. "You just _happened _to find them?"

Jack looked slightly offended. "Of course!" he said poking them. "I'm finished with Christmas fantasies. You know that." With that he walked away to pick up more presents.

Terra raised an eyebrow. "But, you thought you'd hold on to the suit?"

"What, this?" Jack asked. "It's just a costume. And Sally worked so very hard making it! Come on, we've got work to do!"

The quintet looked at each other skeptically before picking up an armload of presents and following the Pumpkin King.

* * *

The sextet walked into Santa's house, each burdened by a load of presents. "Oh!" Santa gasped as he rushed over to them. They placed the presents on the table. "Wherever did you find these?"

Ven rushed over to him. "Santa! It's really you!"

Santa chuckled. "Yes, it's me, and who might you be?"

"I'm Ventus," the blonde boy answered.

"Ah, yes, I know you, Ventus," Santa smiled. "And rest assured that you are on my nice list." Ven cheered as Jack walked up to him.

"You'll need these for Christmas, right, Sandy?" Jack asked.

"Of course." Santa said. "But these are just a few of the presents that were stolen."

The sextet jumped upon hearing that. "Stolen?" Sora exclaimed. Everyone turned to Jack, who jumped.

"Oh, Sandy..." he sighed."You don't think it was ME?"

"Still wearing the outfit, I see." Santa pointed out.

"I just thought I'd dress for the occasion." Jack insisted. "But if you don't believe me, then we'll just have to find out who really did it!"

Santa thought it over. "Very well, I'll leave it to you."

"Alright!" Jack exclaimed. "Sora, Donald, Goofy, Ash, Terra, and..."

"Ven," the blonde boy answered. Jack nodded.

"We're off!" he finished, pointing at the door to Santa's house. With that said and one he walked towards the exit. Everyone sighed.

"You think he did it?" Ven asked. Terra shook his head.

"No, otherwise he wouldn't have taken the time to return them." he answered. Suddenly there was a crash from Santa's workshop.

"Sounds like trouble!" Ash exclaimed. The others nodded and ran towards the commotion. They entered the Wrapping Room to see Shock, Lock and Barrel shifting through various toys and presents.

"This looks good." Barrel said, holding up a teddy bear.

"No!" Sock cried, making Barrel jump.

"Boring!" Lock agreed.

"Hey!" Donald shouted, catching their attention.

"So YOU three took them!" Sora exclaimed, making them cringe.

"Took what?" Shock demanded.

"Don't play dumb!" Ash said.

"You stole the presents, didn't you?" Jack accused.

"It wasn't us!" Lock denied.

"But..." Barrel said, as a wicked grin crossed his face.

"It really sounds like fun!" Shock finished as she grinned as well. They turned and ran.

"Run for it!" they shouted in unison. Terra and Donald lunged for Lock, but the little boy dodged, jumping on their heads before running away.

"Slippery little things!" Terra exclaimed. Donald let out a quack of rage and proceeded to chase Lock down. Sora seemed to get an idea, as he ran towards and empty present box. He smacked the box with his Keyblade, effectively capturing Barrel. Ash followed his example and captured Shock. Ven swung his Keyblade, sending the present flying... right into Donald. The duck stumbled around with swirly eyes for a few seconds before falling to the ground. Lock laughed at his misfortune as everyone sweat dropped. This gave Terra more than enough time to get another present and capture the distracted child.

A few minutes later, the three kids sat before the sextet. "Where'd you put the presents?" Terra demanded.

"We told you!" Shock said annoyed. "We don't have 'em!"

"Then why are you in here?" Donald asked incredulously.

"We're looking for parts for the experiment." Lock explained.

"Experiment?" Jack repeated. Barrel nodded.

"Dr. Finkelstein's making us a friend!" he answered.

"One we get to boss around!" Shock added with a grin.

"It's true the doctor's been hard at work making SOMETHING lately..." Jack mumbled. Shock, Lock and Barrel stood up, the sextet letting them pass.

"Besides, Christmas presents are boring!" Lock told them. "Not scary or gross... So what good are they?"

"Yeah!" Barrel agreed.

"There's nothing fun here." Lock sighed. "Let's go back to Halloween Town!" With that the three children scurried out the door. The sextet followed them and made their way to Santa's house.

"So, were those pranksters responsible for taking the gifts?" Santa asked. Jack shook his head.

"It doesn't look like it." he replied.

"Then that means..." Santa began. He trailed off as Sally burst through the door.

"Sally!" Jack exclaimed.

"Oh, thank goodness!" she cried. "You're all here."

"Is something wrong?" Sora asked.

"The Heartless are back in the town square." Sally answered. "I thought you should know."

"Then that's our cue!" Ash exclaimed. Sora nodded.

"Let's head back to Halloween Town." he said. They all started walking towards the door.

"But wait!" Jack cried. "What about finding the gift-napper?"

"Actually..." Sally said thoughtfully. "The Heartless were playing with some presents when I saw them..."

"Aha!" Jack said triumphantly. "We have our culprits!"

"Then let's go!" Ash ordered. They nodded and the sextet made their way to Halloween Town.

XX

The mayor backed up against the wall and shouted at the various Heartless that were running about the town square. "You can't be here!" he cried. "Leave Halloween Town, by order of the mayor!" The Heartless ignored him as they continued to play with the Christmas presents. "Somebody? Anybody! I'm only an elected official - I can't handle this by myself."

The sextet ran into the square. "Why is that guy in charge?" Terra muttered.

"Sally was right." Jack gasped. "We've got to get the presents!"

"Then let's go!" Ash ordered as he charged at the Heartless.

* * *

"Oh man..." Terra muttered as he rubbed his back.

"The Heartless were a piece of cake," Sora muttered. "But that stupid gate kept attacking us on its own..."

Jack walked up to a ruined present, stepping on the doll that it once contained and picked up the box. "What a shame!" he sighed. "It looks like it was such a nice present."

"Er," Ash said as they all sweat dropped. "Jack -" He was interrupted as the door to Dr. Finkelstein's lab burst open.

"Oh, help!" the Doctor cried. "Someone help me! My latest experiment is gone - it's been stolen!"

"Oh, boy," Terra sighed. The sextet quickly rushed into the Doctor's laboratory.

"I was just sitting here brainstorming, when all of a sudden I was attacked!" Dr. Finkelstein explained. "I collapsed, and when I awoke, my experiment was gone!"

"Don't worry, Doctor - we know who took it." Jack said.

"Who?" the Doctor demanded.

"The Heartless," Sora said matter-of -factly. Donald and Ven nodded in agreement.

"What, those wretched things?" the Doctor asked. "Preposterous! This was nothing like a Heartless."

"If it wasn't the Heartless then who did it?" Ash asked confused. Everyone thought about it.

"Say, I have an idea!" Jack exclaimed. "The thief must like Christmas presents. So... We place irresistible gifts about to draw him into a trap!"

"How can you be so sure that the thief is the same person?" Terra asked.

"It's just this feeling that I get," the Pumpkin King answered.

"How will we know for sure, though?" Ven questioned.

"That's easy!" Jack exclaimed. "We'll scare a confession right out of him!"

The other five were taken aback. "Gawrsh..." Goofy muttered.

"What do you say we go with Jack's plan?" Sora asked them. "Just for now?"

Ash shrugged. "Well we don't really have any other plan."

"We might as well try." Ven agreed.

"Then let's get to Sandy's house posthaste!" Jack cried. "We've got to make some Christmas presents, quickly!"

* * *

"Have you found the presents yet?" Santa asked as they approached him.

"Almost, Mr. Claws!" Jack assured him.

"We're going to reel in the thief with Christmas presents as bait," Sora explained.

"Would you mind if we used your factory to make some presents?" Ven asked.

"Presents as bait...?" Santa mused. "Goodness, I don't like the sound of that...

Jack looked down, making Santa sigh. "Just this once, I suppose." he said with a small smile. "It's for a good cause... Alright, use the second floor. And put some heart in it."

"We will, thanks Santa." Sora said as they rushed into the factory. Santa shook his head with a smile and turned back to his work.

* * *

"All done!" Donald cheered as he tossed a present into the air, which Sora caught.

"Not quite," Jack corrected.

"There's more?" Goofy asked.

"Don't worry; I'll take care of the rest." Jack assured them.

"Whatever you say, Jack," Ash said as he and the others made their way back to Santa's house.

"Did you finish making the presents?" Santa asked.

"Yes, sir, just waiting on Jack." Ash replied. Santa nodded.

"So, uh," Goofy began. "Where do you think we should leave 'em?"

"Hmm..." Santa mumbled. "Oh, I know a good spot! Whenever you're ready, just say the word."

"I'm back!" Jack called as he entered the room, carrying a sack full of presents.

"Then let's get going," Santa suggested as they headed for the door. They nodded and followed him to a narrow plaza. "This plaza should work well for your plan," Santa turned to face them. "Now, Jack... what IS your plan?"

"I've got it all figured out!" Jack said proudly.

"You do..." Santa muttered skeptically.

"Of course!" Jack insisted. "And I also have a wonderful idea. If we catch the thief for you, I would be honored to deliver the -"

He was cut off as Sora and Ash covered his mouth and began dragging him away. "And on that note, we'll be going!" Sora said with a nervous laugh.

"Wha you doin' lemme go!" Jack demanded though their hands. Santa chuckled as the sextet walked off.

* * *

"Stop kicking!" Donald shouted.

"It's not me, Donald!" Goofy insisted.

"Stop touching me!" Ash demanded.

"Sorry," Ven apologized.

"Patience, friends," Jack sighed.

"Shh!" Sora shushed them.

"What?" Terra whispered. All six of them were currently crammed inside a box. A very small box not fit to hold all of them.

"I SAID CUT IT OUT!" Donald shrieked, making the box shake.

"Donald, be quiet!" Sora scolded.

"Gawsh, was that you?' Goofy asked.

"Why do WE have to be the bait?" Ven questioned.

"Good plan, eh?" Jack said proudly.

"Not really..." Terra muttered.

"Ouch!" Donald cried, making the box shake once more.

"Donald..." Ash sighed.

"It's not my fault!" Donald defended. "Someone's kicking me!"

"Gawrsh, maybe it IS me..." Goofy muttered.

"Why you...!"

"Shhhh!" Sora shushed them. "Do you hear that?" Everyone froze and listened as they heard very loud footsteps approaching them. They were getting louder and louder.

"I'm scared..." Ven whispered. Not that they could blame him. This was actually quite suspenseful.

"Don't be, Ven," Terra muttered. "We'll be fine."

"Okay, on three." Jack whispered. "One, two..."

"Wait, ON three, or is it one, two three, THEN go?"

"Just go!" Terra hissed. The sextet leaped out of the box.

"Got'cha!" Sora shouted. Everyone frowned at the sight before them. It was some kind of robot. A badly constructed robot, as it was completely mismatched and seemed to be falling apart.

"Doctor Finkelstein's experiment did it!" Jack shouted. The Experiment fired a laser at them, forcing them to leap out of the box. Sora immediately entered Valor Form, while Terra and Ven flanked the Experiment. Suddenly it split into three parts. The torso began spinning rapidly, knocking them into each other, while the two arms fired lasers at them. Ash ran towards the left arm while Sora took the right. They kicked the two limbs into the torso, forcing it to merge once again. The process continued for ten minutes before the Experiment finally fell apart.

"We did it!" Jack cheered. "The mystery is solved." He blinked and looked up as the sound of tinkling bells was heard. They all looked to see Santa descending from the sky in his sleigh.

"Did you catch the thief?" he asked.

"Naturally!" Jack said.

"I just can't figure it out..." Sora muttered. "Why would the Doctor's experiment go around stealing presents?"

"His experiment?" Santa repeated.

"The thief." Jack explained. "It was a moving puppet made by Doctor Finkelstein."

Santa approached the experiment. "Hmm, the Doctor made a moving puppet?" he mused. "I see... He is always tinkering with things. Now listen, Jack. I'd like to thank you, and while delivering presents is something only I can do, I can give you an idea of what it feels like."

"Sandy Claws!" Jack practically squealed. Ash chuckled. In no time, Jack was sitting in Santa's sleigh.

"Yes, all that poor puppet wanted was a heart," Santa said sadly. They turned to see Jack taking off into the sky.

"Ho ho ho!" Jack shouted. They all smiled at Jack's glee.

"Oh!" Santa exclaimed, making them all turn to him.

"Was there something else, Santa?" Ven asked.

"Yes, there was," Santa turned to face them. "You've done a lot of good here, Ash." he said with a smile.

"It was nothing," Ash said with a grin.

"Ah, but it was," Santa insisted. "You can rest assured that you're once again on my nice list."

"Really?" Ash exclaimed. "Yes!"

"But only if you remain good from now until Christmas!" Santa warned him.

"Don't worry, Santa, I will!" Ash assured him.

"We'd better get back to Halloween Town and tell Dr. Finkelstein about his experiment." Terra suggested. The others nodded and followed him up the path to Halloween Town. Santa waved them off before heading into his house.

* * *

"Interesting!" Dr. Finkelstein mused. "So the puppet wasn't stolen after all! It ran away on its own. In other words, my experiment was an overwhelming success!"

"Santa Claus thinks maybe it left because it was trying to find a heart." Sora informed him.

"That's quite possible," the Doctor admitted. "Unlike my Sally, it wasn't equipped with a heart." The Doctor began muttering to himself as he made his way back to his laboratory.

"But if it wanted a heart, why was it going around stealing Christmas presents?" Ven asked confused.

"Maybe it was because..." they turned to see Sally walking up to them."Presents are a way to give your _heart _to someone special."

"Sound about right," Terra agreed.

"Hmm... when you put it that way," Sora began. "I feel sort of bad for it."

"Yeah," Ash said sadly. He blinked upon hearing the sound of sleigh bells. Everyone jumped when Jack fell from the sky, landing right in front of them. They looked up to see Santa riding his sleigh.

"Happy Halloween!" he shouted as the sleigh disappeared into the horizon.

"And Merry Christmas!" Ash shouted back. Suddenly it began snowing.

"What a nice present," Sally said appreciatively.

"I don't understand," Jack muttered. "There's no box, no ribbon tied in a bow!"

"Jack, it's not about the box or the ribbons," Sora explained. "It's about what's inside the box!"

"No, Sora," Sally corrected him. "What really counts - what's really special - is the act of giving the gift. To wish deep in your heart to make someone else happy.

"Right, of course!" Jack cried. "Thank you, Sally. You're absolutely right." He blinked and held a hand to his chest. "Wait, what's this? I feel so strange... so very happy!"

"Jack!" Goofy exclaimed. "That must be Sally's present!

"Really?" Jack asked. "This wonderful feeling?" he walked up to Sally and held her hands. "Oh, Sally... You've given me the nicest present in the world! And I've nothing to give you in return. What would you like? Just name it. Absolutely anything.

"The nicest present I could ever ask for, Jack," Sally said softly. "Is just to be with you."

Everyone had tears in their eyes. Even Ven had a goofy smile on his face. Donald wiped his eyes in an attempt to preserve his dignity.

"You don't even have to ask for that." Jack said with a happy sigh. He took her hand and began dancing with her.

"Maybe... I never gave her a real present after all..." Sora muttered.

"Who?" Donald asked.

"Who else?" Terra asked with a smirk. "Kairi, he won't shut up about her, after all." Sora had the decency to blush.

"I'm sure Kairi would like anything you gave her." Ash assured him.

"I know," Sora said. "That's what made it so hard to decide."

"It's not the gift; it's what's in your heart!" Ven reminded him.

"My heart..." Sora muttered. Ash nodded.

"As long as you put your heart in it, there isn't a better gift in the world." Ash said.

"You bet!" Donald agreed. "Kairi's like Sally."

"How?" Sora asked confused.

"Well, as long as she can be with you, what else does she need?" Goofy explained. Sora looked back to the couple dancing and smiled. Ash did the same, picturing himself and Aqua dancing together.

_'I'll save her; I'll do whatever it takes!' _Ash looked up, his eyes filled with a new determination. The full moon hung high in the sky, illuminating them all in its ethereal glow.

"Let's go." he ordered as the Gummi Ship beamed them up.

* * *

**A/N: Filler chapter, sorry. Like I said, I got distracted. Hopefully I can update a little more later.**


	32. Agrabah

"Alright, that's another world down!" Sora exclaimed.

"Not only that," Ash added. "But I'm back on Santa's good side!"

"What did you do to get on his bad side?" Ven asked confused.

"Don't ask." Everyone responded deadpan.

"O...kay?" Ven blinked. He turned forward. "Hey, what's that world?"

"It's Agrabah!" Ash observed.

"Let's go check up on Aladdin and Jasmine!" Sora suggested as he piloted towards the Arabian world.

"My bet is SOMETHING is up..." Terra muttered. "Considering how things have gone so far..."

"Only one way to find out," Ash said. Sora nodded as they neared Agrabah.

* * *

The quintet was beamed down in a room made of pure gold. Ash took a look around, not recognizing the surroundings. "Where are we?"

"Beats me," Sora muttered. Donald got that glints in his eyes as he looked around the room. He took a step back and nearly knocked a vase over.

"You break it, you buy it!" a man shouted. Everyone turned to see a familiar short man standing behind the counter. "Oh, hello there, friends!" he exclaimed upon seeing their faces.

"Wow you made out like a bandit!" Sora exclaimed. Ash was suspicious.

"And how did you do that?" he asked.

"What you see is merely a reward of my hard work." the man insisted.

"Gawrsh, they sure are nice." Goofy commented.

"And they're on sale!" the man said. "Interested?"

"No thanks," Sora said approaching him. "Listen, have you seen a guy in a black coat? Someone from Organization XIII?"

"Who me?" the man asked confused. "Most certainly not..."

"Okay, we'll keep asking around then." Sora said with a sigh.

"Something's fishy," Ash stated.

"And why would you say that, good sir?" the man asked nervously. This caused the others to become suspicious as well.

"You couldn't sell anything the last time we came," Ash remarked.

"How could you have made so much money so quickly?" Terra continued.

"Well, that treasure you gave me certainly helped," the man replied.

"And yet it's sitting over there?" Terra asked, nodding towards the treasure. The man flinched.

"Now see here, I -" Suddenly the doors burst open, and Aladdin, Abu and Iago stormed in.

"Guys!" he exclaimed upon seeing them. "Don't let him get away!"

Everyone turned back to see the man had disappeared. "Okay, what's goin' on?" Sora asked.

"I can't believe it!" Aladdin growled. "That stupid peddler let Jafar out of the lamp!"

"Jafar?" the quintet exclaimed. Ven turned to his friends.

"Who's Jafar?" he asked.

"Evil genie, tried to take over the world," Ash replied. "You know the usual?"

"Ah,"

"You guys better be careful," Aladdin warned. "I'm sure Jafar wants to take over Agrabah again, but I know he's out for revenge, too."

"I guess he's still sore about the whole lamp thing, huh?" Sora asked sheepishly.

"Iago was there when Jafar was released." Aladdin explained. He turned to the parrot. "Okay, spill it, Iago."

"Hey, I told you everything I know!" Iago replied.

"This is your one and only chance, Iago..." Aladdin said sternly. "If I find out later that you've been lying or hiding things from us, we're through. I'll never speak to you again!"

Iago looked torn. Finally he cracked. "I can't take it!" he shouted. "I know where Jafar is!"

"Where?" Goofy asked. Iago quickly became flustered.

"Uh, er, I mean, that is, um..." he stuttered. "Ack! I really shouldn't..."

"Iago!" Aladdin shouted.

"Tell us!" Ash demanded. Finally Iago let out a sigh.

"He's in the desert ruins..." he muttered. Sora turned towards his companions.

"Let's get the jump on him!" Turning back to the parrot, Sora ordered, "Lead the way!"

* * *

The sextet plus Iago and Abu entered the oasis to see a sandstorm raging in the desert. "What a disaster!" Iago said strangely. "We're just gonna hafta turn back!"

"There's gotta be another way..." Aladdin muttered.

"Aw, c'mon kid!" a familiar voice shouted. "That's an easy one!" Everyone looked up to see a blue form approaching them. "Al, old buddy, old pal!" Genie began flying around Aladdin in circles. "This is what having a genie for a best friend is all about! I mean, how could you leave me on the sidelines at a time like this?" Genie disappeared, only to reappear above them, several sizes larger than before. "Live large! Wow'em, Al!" He disappeared once again, reappearing on Aladdin's shoulder, the size of Iago. "Give 'em the old razzmatazz! What do ya say, kid?"

"Hey, Genie!" Sora called. Genie turned to him.

"Sora! Ash! Terra!" he exclaimed. "And, don't tell me... your name is... your name... is..."

"Ventus."

Genie deflated slightly. "Yeah... I knew that..." he perked up. "Anyway, wanna see a little something I call 'Sandstorm Sweep'?"

"Uh-huh!" Everyone said eagerly.

"Take it away, Genie!" Aladdin agreed. Genie grinned.

"Alakaza..." he blinked upon seeing the size of it and turned back to them, slightly saddened."You know, one lousy sandstorm is just too easy." Genie sighed and snapped his fingers, looking bored. Everyone watched, amazed, as the sandstorm cleared, leaving the path open. They turned to see Genie had disappeared once more. "How 'bout giving me a challenge next time, Al?" his voice echoed through the area.

"Let's get moving!" Aladdin ordered. The others nodded and followed him out into the desert.

* * *

The group approached the ledge that overlooked the desert ruins. "So this is it, huh?" Ash muttered.

"What do we do now?" Ven asked. Everyone blinked when they heard a whooshing sound. They turned to see a flying carpet flying towards them.

"Nice timing, Carpet!" Sora cheered.

"Er, Sora?" Terra began.

"I... don't think we'll all fit on that." Ash noted. Sora looked at them all before sighing.

"Great, now what?" he asked.

"We can use our Keyblade Rides!" Ven suggested.

"That's a good idea, Ven." Ash praised. He tapped his armor piece, Terra and Ven doing the same. After a flash of light, three armored figures stood before them. Ash noticed that Ven's Ride took the form of a skateboard.

"Okay, does everyone but ME have that armor?" Sora demanded.

"Alright, we'll split up," Terra began. "I'll take Goofy, Ven will take Donald. Ash, you take Aladdin and Abu. Sora's on Carpet."

"Got it." With that said the group split into their assigned teams and took off.

"Hey, check it out!" Sora called, pointing at something transparent, taking the form of a man in robes.

"After it!" Aladdin shouted. They chased after the strange creature, taking down the various Heartless that popped up. They followed it until they reached a circular tower, where a strange monument appeared.

"What is that?" Ash called.

"Let's examine it," Aladdin suggested. They approached the monument, and images flashed in their minds.

"There are three switches we have to hit!" Sora shouted.

"Split up and find them!" Terra ordered. The team split up in search of the three switches. Ash, Sora and Aladdin went together, quickly finding five floating spheres. The spheres changed colors, turning red before changing position as well. They began floating in a circle before turning into a diamond once more.

"I think we have to hit them all at once." Sora thought out loud.

"But how?" Aladdin asked. Ash got an idea.

"Sora, see how it turns into a circle like that?" he asked. Sora nodded. "Try going into the center of the circle and use Fira."

The brown haired boy grinned and did as instructed. The switches flashed and turned crystal blue, freezing in their circle position. "Hey!" a voice called. They looked up to see the others waiting for them.

"The door's open, let's go!" Ven shouted. They regrouped and entered the tower.

The sextet rushed in. "The game's up, Jafar!" Sora shouted. Everyone looked around, only to find the room empty.

"Uh, you sure this is it?" Aladdin asked the parrot. The parrot looked down.

"Iago?" Donald asked suspiciously. Iago flew over to a pile of rubble, still not looking at them.

"You gotta understand!" he cried. "It wasn't my idea! It was Jafar! He made me bring you here!" The parrot took on a pleading expression. "You don't know him like I do! He can be VERY convincing... He said if I didn't cooperate, he was gonna -"

Iago gasped as Aladdin glared at him. "Where is he?" the street rat demanded.

"C'mon, Al!" Iago begged. "You gotta forgive me!"

"We already told you," Ash said angrily. "That was your last chance!"

"Where's Jafar?" Aladdin demanded, getting angrier by the second. Iago jumped in fright.

"Well... um, let's see... right now, he's probably attacking the palace." Iago stuttered. "I had no choice! His eyes, they got all creepy and WIERD!"

"Uh huh..." Terra grunted, crossing his arms.

"Whatever!" Sora spat. "Iago, you're supposed to be our friend!"

"We vouched for you!" Ash continued.

"But you've been playing both sides just to make sure you save yourself..." Terra muttered darkly.

"I knew you were still a bad guy!" Donald growled, reaching for his staff. Iago back away, frightened.

"I'm sorry!" he cried as he tipped over a small vase. It hit the ground, shattering. Suddenly the room began shaking as rubble fell from the ceiling.

"What did you do now?" Ash demanded. Carpet flew into the room as Ash, Terra and Ven summoned their armor.

"Let's go!" Aladdin shouted as he hopped up behind Ash.

* * *

The sextet landed in the oasis, where Carpet fell to the ground, exhausted. "Get some rest, Carpet." Aladdin said gratefully. "You earned it."

Carpet complied, falling limp to the ground, looking like an ordinary carpet. Aladdin stood. "C'mon, let's get Jafar!" Iago ordered, as though nothing had just happened.

"And who asked you?" Sora asked angrily.

Aladdin pointed at the gates. "The palace is through there, hurry!"

* * *

Jasmine struggled against the chains binding her to the palace gates. "Just wait, Jafar!" she spat. "You'll get exactly what's coming to you!"

"Indeed, I will, Princess." Jafar drawled. He leaned in so their faces were mere inches apart. "All of Agrabah will belong to me, while you..." he let out a chuckle as she attempted to scoot away from him in disgust."You, my queen, will weep at my side for all eternity." Jasmine's eyes widened in fear as she scanned the area, desperately searching for Aladdin. "Oh, please." Jafar scoffed. He cupped Jasmine's chin, forcing her to look at him. "Right about now, your precious Aladdin is whispering your name with his last breath."

Jasmine jerked away from him. She looked away, and her face instantly brightened. Before them stood Aladdin and the others. "What was that, Jafar?" Aladdin asked through grit teeth. Jafar noticed Iago hiding behind Goofy.

"You dare defy my, you useless bird?" Jafar shouted as he pointed his staff at Iago and Goofy. The two braced themselves and Jafar smirked. Suddenly Jafar switched targets, aiming for Aladdin, whose eyes widened.

"Al!" Iago shouted as he got in the way of the blast, falling to the ground, limp.

"Iago!" Goofy exclaimed.

"You'll be joining him..." Jafar whispered as he slammed his staff into the ground. "VERY soon!" He became engulfed in a red aura. He suddenly transformed into a gigantic red genie. Cackling, he broke off a tower on the palace, sending it flying towards them. They jumped out of the way, Sora being picked up by Carpet, while the three other Keybladers activated their armor and Keyblade Rides.

"Al!" Ash shouted. Aladdin nodded and hopped behind him, drawing his scimitar. The sextet took to the skies, where Jafar was awaiting them. The genie summoned two towers from the palace, and flung them at the group. They all split up, Sora went right for Jafar's face, keeping him distracted. Ven and Terra were busy dodging lightning bolts. Donald was attacking from range with his magic, while Goofy hurled his shields, which would somehow always return to him.

Ash went downwards, and approached Jafar's stomach. Aladdin let loose a flurry of attacks while Ash fired lasers at the genie's torso. "I'll destroy all!" Jafar screamed as a bright flash occurred. Everyone covered their eyes before opening them again, finding themselves in another dimension. They all scattered as pieces of rubble began flying at them. One crashed into Ash's Ride, sending the two occupants reeling. Jafar let out a grunt of annoyance before they were transported back to Agrabah.

Ash took his chance, and flew at high speed, ramming right into Jafar's stomach. "Ack!" Jafar grunted as he clutched his torso. Sora, Terra and Ven closed in on his face. Ash glanced at Jafar's tail, which was unprotected. He flew towards it, and grabbed the tip. "What are you doing?" Jafar demanded. Ash didn't answer, instead wrapped the tail around Jafar, making him spin at rapid speed. "Ugh..."

"He's stunned, now's our chance!" Aladdin cried. Ash closed in with the others firing lasers as he went. Aladdin leapt right off the Ride, landing on Jafar's head. He took his scimitar and stabbed it right into the genie's face.

"Ahh!" Jafar screamed as he began crackling with red energy. "No... How can I be defeated again, by a pack of filthy street rats?"

"Don't mess with street rats!" Sora shouted.

"Or you might just get bitten!" Ven added as the two flew by each other, sharing a high-five. Jafar screamed in pain as he began glowing more violently. Aladdin leapt off, falling towards the ground. Ash swooped in and caught him.

"Thanks," Aladdin said with a smile. "Let's head back down." Ash nodded and flew towards the ground where the others were waiting. He reverted his clothing and dismissed his Ride. Above them, Jafar screamed one last time before exploding in red particles. Ash noticed a black lamp on the ground and approached it. Everyone watched as it disappeared into darkness. Suddenly a crack was heard behind them. They turned to see an indignant Genie.

"You went mano a mano with Jafar and you didn't invite me, Al?" Genie cried.

Aladdin chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry, Genie. Things happened kinda fast."

"And I had some new moves to try out, too!" Genie sighed.

"But, Genie!" Donald exclaimed. "We still need your help!"

"Who's gonna fix Abrabah?" Sora added.

"Oh, yeah!" Genie cheered. "One super-duper spruced-up Agrabah comin' right up! You won't even recognize the place after I'm through with it!"

"Just like it was, please." Aladdin smiled. Genie deflated.

"Really?" he asked disappointed. "Same old same old?" Everyone nodded and he sighed.

"Alright." He pointed his finger at the buildings and an array of lights flashed throughout the city. They turned back to Genie, only to find him gone. "Et voilà! Next time let me put in a few swimming pools, 'kay?"

Aladdin began stretching. He smiled as he saw Jasmine approaching them. Sora turned to face him. "I guess Agrabah's alright now."

"Yeah!" Aladdin agreed. "Thanks, guys."

"Hey, Iago!" Sora called to the bird sitting on a pile of boxes. "You behave yourself, you hear?"

"I most definitely got it!" the bird insisted. "No more lookin' out for number one. I'm reformed!" he looked down. "I wanna be a good friend like Genie, but I can't do anything to help you... What kind of a friend is that?"

"It's not like that, Iago!" Ven insisted. "Friends don't have to _do _stuff."

"Yeah, as long as you have fun hangin' out together, that's all that matters." Sora finished.

"Yeah, like us!" Ven exclaimed, pointing at his friends.

"So, what do you guys do for fun?" Aladdin asked. Suddenly Donald and Goofy got in his face, making strange faces.

"We do this!" Donald cried.

Aladdin looked at them strangely. "Uh... that's not quite what I meant."

Sora chuckled. "Well, anyway..."

"Aw, my beak..." Iago complained, rubbing his beak.

"Gawrsh, Iago, I hope you didn't hurt yourself." Goofy said concerned.

"Well, at least I can still fly..." Iago said dramatically as he began flying unsteadily. Goofy followed underneath him, planning to catch the bird, should he fall.

"Look out!" Terra exclaimed. Goofy turned to see where he was going, only to crash into an empty stand, sending it crashing down on him.

"Goofy..." Ash shook his head, chuckling.

"Oh! Was that my cue?" Genie's voice rang through the streets. "Am I on? C'mon, Al! Let me build a freeway or something!"

Aladdin became nervous. "Uh, everything's fine, Genie!" he insisted. "Don't panic... GENIE!" He screamed as lights began dancing around in the streets.

"But I can't hold it any longer!" Everyone watched as Genie danced around in the sky, laughing all the way. "Sora! Ash, Terra, Ven, Donald, Goofy! You guys are too much! If you're ever in the need of some more cosmic razzle dazzle, gimme a shout, okay?"

"You got it!" Ven shouted. Aladdin smiled before turning back to face them.

"Well, you've done it again, guys." he said. "Don't forget about us, okay?"

"We won't." Sora assured them.

"And about those friends you're searching for... " Aladdin began."You'll find them. Trust me."

"Yeah..." Ash whispered. "We will..."

"Well guys, looks like it's time to head out." Sora said. The others nodded as the Gummi Ship beamed them up.


	33. Pride Lands

"Okay, well -"

"Hey!" a new voice cut in. Everyone looked around until realizing that it was Chip, speaking to them through a radio. "What's that? That big... thing?"

"Maybe that's the source of the weird reading we picked up before!" Dale suggested.

"Huh, what are you two talking about?" Ash asked. He looked at the radar to see a VERY large world that was currently inaccessible. The reading was funny as well, and they couldn't get a good view of it.

"And there's something funny about Twilight Town!" Chip continued. "I'm seein' two of 'em!"

"Look!" Dale cried. "It's another huge energy reading, and it's coming from someplace near the town!"

"I'm not sure what's goin' on, fellas, but we'll check it out!" Chip said.

"You just keep on adventurin'" Dale continued. "We'll update you on what we find!" With that said the two chipmunks cut off communication.

Ash turned to his friends. "What do you guys think?"

"I'm not sure, but let's do what Chip and Dale suggested." Sora said.

"Alright, well the next world is the Pride Lands." Terra noted.

"Let's check up on Simba!" Sora suggested. The others nodded and the brown haired boy piloted the ship towards the Pride Lands.

* * *

The quintet landed in the middle of the savannah. Ven looked himself over. He was a normal spotted cheetah, though the fur on his head was spiky, and his Keyblade Master insignia dangled from his neck. Donald let out a quack of surprise, making them turn.

Shenzi, Banzai and Ed sprinted towards them, only to stop in their tracks upon recognizing them. "Oh, it's you guys." Shenzi said in obvious disappointment. "Man, we were hoping you were a meal."

"Hiya!" Ven greeted cheerfully.

"Don't gimme any of that 'hiya' stuff!" Banzai snapped. "Thanks you to clowns, we're back to scavenging scraps for a living."

"Well _sorry_," Ven said angrily. Ed began laughing hysterically. Sora and Terra prepared themselves for a fight.

"C'mon, it's not that bad," Shenzi sighed as she began walking away. "I enjoyed that week-dead elephant we had yesterday."

"Hey!" Sora called. "How's Simba?" For some reason this made Shenzi burst out laughing.

Everyone raised an eyebrow. Banzai decided to explain. "We gotta laugh every time we hear that dude's name."

"Heh, say it again!" Shenzi giggled.

"Simba..." Banzai drawled. The two burst out laughing.

"One more time!" Shenzi ordered.

"Simba!" Banzai repeated. Shenzi began giggling again. "Simba!" By now all three were rolling on the ground with laughter.

"You mind explaining what's so funny?" Terra demanded.

"Go on then, see for yourself." Shenzi said as she turned away. "Simba is one wishy-washy king."

"Yeah, I bet about now, even those high and mighty lionesses were wishin' they'd gotten a different king." Banzai cracked.

"Hey, little king!" Shenzi called. "Maybe _you_ can give 'em a few tips." The three hyenas strode away, laughing.

"Gawrsh, whaddaya think coulda happened?" Goofy asked.

"Let's find Simba and see," Ash suggested as he began the trek towards Pride Rock. The other four nodded and followed him.

* * *

The quintet climbed over the rocks to get to Pride Rock. Suddenly a dark vortex descended and a transparent version of Scar appeared before them. "Scar?" Sora exclaimed. He charged at the lion, only for it to disappear. "Huh?"

"A ghost?" Donald suggested.

"We better tell Simba about this!" Goofy exclaimed.

"He's probably in the King's Den." Terra said, looking at the cave. The group made their way to the Den, only to be confronted by a lioness.

"Have you come to see Simba?" she asked.

"We saw Scar's ghost!" Sora exclaimed.

"An omen like that could only be foretelling the end of our pride," she sighed. "Yet, King Simba won't do a thing. I guess just being the son of the great King Mufasa doesn't necessarily mean he's ready to rule the kingdom himself."

"I'm sure Simba'll think of something." Sora insisted. The lioness shook her head.

"The time for thinking is past." she said gravely. "We need him to take action - as his father would have done. He ruled with courage and pride. I remember it like it was yesterday... The mighty Mufasa"

"Simba will do that, too!" Ash declared. "You'll see!"

"I'm not so sure..."

"Wait here, let us talk to Simba." Sora said. She nodded and let them pass. They entered to see Simba lying on the floor. He looked up at them sadly.

"You came back..." he muttered.

"Are you okay?" Donald asked.

"You don't look so good." Goofy commented.

"Hey, Simba," Sora said walking up to him. "Why don't we team up and do something about that Scar ghost? Seems like everybody's worried about it."

"Yeah," Ash said with a nod. "Now's your chance to show 'em what your made of!"

"That doesn't concern you!" Simba said with a snarl. Sora and Ash jumped back, startled. Simba looked away, ashamed.

"I'm sorry..." he whispered.

"It's... okay..." Sora said warily.

"I just... wish I knew what my father would do." Simba said with a sigh.

"But he's not here, Simba." Terra explained." It's up to you now,"

Goofy nodded. "And that means the important thing is what you're gonna do being the king."

Ash felt Terra nudge him. "What?" he whispered.

"Say something," Terra said. "You're in the same boat as Simba, right?"

Ash jumped. "What?" he exclaimed softly. "I'm no king!"

"No," Terra agreed. "But you're the prince of Radiant Garden."

"Yeah, you're royalty, too." Sora told him. "If Simba's gonna listen to anyone, it's you."

"B- but..." Ash stuttered. "I didn't even know! I was raised in Pallet Town; I don't know anything about being a king!"

"Neither does Simba," Terra pointed out. "He was raised in the jungle by a meerkat and a warthog."

"He's probably not even sure how to act around other lions," Sora said. "He just needs some support, Ash. Like what you did with Herc in the Coliseum."

Ash let out an irritated sigh. "I'll do my best..."

"That's all we ask." Terra nodded. Ash strode up to Simba, who had a far off look in his eyes.

"Hey, Simba." he said softly. Simba blinked and turned to him. "I understand that you're worried about what your father would have done, but none of that matters."

"But-"

"No, Simba," Ash interrupted. "He isn't here anymore, and it's up to you, like Goofy said. I'm sure he was a great king and all, but _you're_ king now. This isn't about what your father would have done. This is about what _you _want to do. What _you _think is right." Ash smirked. "This is _your _story, it's time you started writing it."

"So you're saying... it's all up to me..." Simba muttered.

"Heh, I guess I'm the same as you,"

"What do you mean?" Simba asked.

"Well, before all this, I didn't even know I was royalty." Ash explained. "I was raised in a small community. Then I went out on an adventure with Sora and the others, now I find out that I'm a prince!"

"I... see..." Simba said thoughtfully. Ash sighed.

"I don't know the first thing about being a prince," he said to the lion. "That doesn't mean I'm not gonna try." Ash looked up at Simba. "What do you say, Simba? I'll do my best, if you do yours."

Simba stared at him for a long while before nodding. "I will," he said with determination. "Thanks, Ash."

"Don't mention it..." Ash muttered. He walked over to his friends.

"Way to go, Ash!" Ven cheered. He turned serious. "So if you're prince, can you get me free ice cream?" Everyone laughed at him, the serious atmosphere broken. "I'm being serious here!" Ven cried indignantly. That just set everyone off again. Ven huffed. "Fine, whatever!"

"I can do this!" Simba said.

"We're glad to hear you say that, Simba." a familiar voice said. They turned to see Nala, Timon and Pumba approaching them. Nala stood next to Simba. "Promise me you'll help Simba in any way you can."

"As long as you guys handle the dangerous parts!" Timon added. Sora nodded happily.

"I'm counting on you, Simba," Nala said lovingly. "And so is our baby."

"Whoa, _baby?_" Ash exclaimed.

Terra smirked. "Is that the_ real_ reason you were depressed?" Simba and Nala laughed and nuzzled.

"Great, now we're gonna have to babysit!" Timon cried. This set everyone off again. Timon glared at them, he was being serious.

"Let's go see Rafiki first," Simba suggested once everyone calmed down. "I'm sure he'll be able to tell us something about that ghost."

The quintet nodded and accompanied him to the cave of Rafiki. They found the mandrill waiting for them. "Ho ho - The King - he is ready to be king?"

"I think so." Simba said. Ash coughed.

"Think so?" Ash questioned. Simba smiled sheepishly.

"I _am_." he corrected, stronger this time.

"I see..." Rafiki said.

"Can you tell us about Scar's ghost?" Ven asked.

"Oh, yes... the ghost," Rafiki muttered. "A being with no body. It is created when the evil heart of Scar meets the hesitating heart of Simba."

"Hesitating?" Simba repeated.

"Ohhhh... You thought you were not?" Rafiki asked.

"Gawrsh, that ghost sounds just like a Heartless," Goofy commented.

"I don't know..." Sora muttered.

"You're right," Rafiki agreed. "You don't, but you do know it is upsetting. And it is upsetting the hearts of everybody in the Pride Lands. You may not know what it is, but it IS. This world, it is full of many such things, and these things, a king must face. It is a test that has been set for you, Simba."

"That's all? Come on." Simba pleaded. "You have to tell us more about the ghost."

"No! Not today!" Rafiki said sternly. "But the hyenas in the elephant graveyard may know more. Does not matter, there is little the Simba of late can do."

"Aw, don't say that!" Sora exclaimed. "Not when he's ready to try!"

"In his head, but what about his heart?" Rafiki demanded.

"Forget it, Sora." Simba said turning away. "Let's head to the elephant graveyard." He turned and led the way to the savannah. Ash watched him for a second before following.

* * *

The sextet stepped into the graveyard. "Whoa..." Ven muttered.

"Hey, you!" Donald shouted. They turned to see the three hyenas standing before them.

"Aw, c'mon, can't you guys just leave us alone?" Banzai demanded.

"Do you three know anything about Scar's ghost?" Simba asked.

"Huh?" Shenzi asked confused. "Scar's ghost?" Ed began laughing.

"Maaaybe." Banzai taunted as the three took off in separate directions.

"You _do_ know!" Sora accused as he took off after him. Ven followed him, along with Simba. Donald and Goofy chased after Ed while Terra and Ash took off after Shenzi.

"C'mon, little king!" Shenzi cracked. "You can do better then that!"

"A little lesson!" Ash shouted. Shenzi yelped in surprise as he was suddenly in front of her. "Never try to outrun a cheetah!" Shenzi growled and tackled him to the ground before taking off once more. Terra casted Blizzara at her, freezing one of her legs, making her trip. This in turn caused Banzai, who was expecting her to jump over him, trip, slamming right into Ed. The three hyenas suddenly found themselves surrounded.

"Oh no..." Banzai muttered sarcastically. "I guess you caught us _all_."

"What're we gonna do?" Shenzi smirked.

"Tell me about Scar's ghost!" Simba demanded.

"Sooorrry, we don't know nothin'." Banzai drawled.

"Oooh, wait. It's comin' back to me!" Shenzi exclaimed. "That's the one that only hangs out around fraidy cats. Right, Banzai?"

"Enough!" Simba shouted. Ed started laughing. Shenzi smirked, making them turn around. Before them stood the ghost of Scar.

"There it is, must be a fraidy cat around here somewhere!" Shenzi mocked.

"Simba!" Sora urged. "Do something!"

"How does it feel to be king, hmm?" Scar asked. Ash noticed that the ghost's mouth never moved when it spoke. "Why you must be a truly inspiring ruler by now." Simba began backing away. "After all, you _are_ the son of the great Mufasa." Simba suddenly took off running.

"Where are you going?" Ven shouted.

"Ah, Simba, running away as always..." Scar droned.

"Simba!" Sora shouted as the ghost disappeared. The three hyenas laughed as they walked off.

"Gawrsh, Rafiki was right," Goofy said sadly.

"You mean Simba's _still_ unsure?" Ash asked disappointed.

"It seems that way," Terra said nodding.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Ven asked.

"We should start by talking to Simba some more." Sora suggested. "Let's head back to the Pride Lands."

* * *

The quintet approached Pride Rock to find Rafiki and Nala waiting for them. "Where's Simba?" Nala asked confused.

"He took off on us." Ash answered.

"Oh ho ho!" Rafiki said knowingly. "He ran away! I knew it would not be easy for him. To face his fears, he must go somewhere where the only thing to think of is what to do, not what others think of him."

"Why didn't you say this before?" Ven asked. Rafiki shrugged.

"Where's Simba now?" Ash asked.

"Hey, I know!" Timon cried as he approached them. "He's at the oasis! It's our favorite hangout!"

"Got it!" Sora nodded. "Let's check it out!"

"I'll lead the way!" Pumbaa declared.

"Oh, no you won't!" Timon argued. "Simba'll smell you coming a mile away! And if he's smart, he'll run for the hills!"

"Oh... right." Pumbaa said sheepishly.

"C'mon!" Ash urged. "Let's go!"

* * *

The quintet entered the oasis area to see Scar backing Simba up against the cliff. "Simba!" Sora shouted as they ran towards them. Scar disappeared, leaving Simba shaken.

"It's no use," Simba muttered, head down. "I'll never be the king my father was."

"Stop comparing yourself to your father!" Ash snapped. "Your father didn't want you to be the next him, he wanted you to rule the way _you_ wanted. You _can't_ be your father. You can only be yourself, and _that_ is what everyone wants to see."

Sora nodded. "Everyone believes in you as a king."

"They just want to see you_ do_ it." Ash continued. "So stand up and _do_ something! Everyone needs you Simba! Nala, Timon, Pumbaa, heck, _we_ need you!"

"Yeah, and if anyone says they like your father better, it's because you haven't done anything to compare to him." Ven said.

"I know that!" Simba muttered.

"Then stop moping and _do_ something!" Terra urged.

"I can't!" Simba snapped.

"Simba!" Ash snapped in return. "Look at yourself. You think that you can't measure up to your father? How will you know if you don't even try? You think your father would be proud of the way you're acting?" Simba looked down.

"But what if I do something wrong?"

"No one is perfect, Simba." Ash said, calming down. "And no one is asking you to be. All they're asking is you try your best. We made a deal remember?" Simba nodded. "You try your best, and I'll try mine. And if all of that's not enough to motivate you, what about Nala? She's carrying new life, Simba. Do you want your children to suffer?"

That hit home. Simba snarled. "No!"

"That's it!" Sora cheered. Just then, Scar's ghost appeared. Simba glared at it.

"Everyone's behind you, Simba." Ash said. "They all believe in you."

"So go!" Sora shouted. Simba leapt at the ghost, forcing it to dissolve.

"You did it!" Ven cheered. "The ghost is gone!"

"We knew you could do it!" Donald cried.

"Hooray for Simba!" Goofy cheered.

"You know, I'm really lucky to have friends who'll stand by me..." Simba said gratefully. "And I'm holding up our deal, Ash. Thank you."

"You sure are good at pep talks, Ash." Ven said cheerfully.

"I should start a business." Ash said jokingly.

"Looks like I've got a kingdom to rebuild." Simba said, looking out into the distance.

"Are you gonna say it, or do it?" Sora asked. Simba turned to them.

"Wait and see," he said smirking.

"Simba!" a new voice cut in. They turned to see Timon rushing into the clearing. "Simba! Come quick! There's a bazillion ghosts of Scar haunting the Pride Lands! Everybody but Nala high-tailed it outta there, and now she needs your help!"

Timon jumped back when Simba sprinted past him. He sighed. "Our little Simba... all grown up and finding his place in the world."

"Nice try!" Simba called as he stepped back into view. "You're coming, too!"

Timon grumbled but complied nonetheless. The group of seven dashed out of the clearing, towards the Pride Lands.

* * *

"We're here!" Sora shouted as they climbed the rocks. They saw that Scar had Nala and Pumbaa cornered.

"Where's Simba?" Nala demanded. Ash glanced behind them and moved out of the way. He remained standing while the others bowed. Simba strode up to them, looking exactly like the king he was meant to be. Nala beamed at Simba.

"I've come back, Nala." Simba said strongly. Scar smirked and approached him. He got right in Simba's face. They stood there staring at each other before Simba snarled.

"Get out!" he demanded. The ghost disappeared in a wisp of darkness.

"Way to go, Simba!" Sora cheered. Nala ran to him and nuzzled him affectionately. Ash smiled before he noticed a large mass of darkness was gathering in the savannah. Simba noticed this as well and turned to them.

"Are you with me?" he asked.

"Now and forever, Your Majesty!" Ven answered. Simba nodded and the sextet took off towards the savannah. They arrived to find the darkness forming a gigantic turtle-like Heartless. The Heartless began stomping around, forcing the sextet to scatter. Ash weaved his way through the Groundshaker's feet, jumping every time it stomped, to avoid the shockwave. He ended up right in front of its head. The Heartless swiped at him with its paw, forcing Ash to roll out of the way. It raised its paw and brought it down on him. Ash brought his Oathkeeper up, fending it off. Sora rushed over and aided him and together, they forced it back, leaving it on the ground, stunned.

The group took the chance to strike, but the beast quickly recovered, leaping back. Suddenly the various joints caught fire and they found trails of fire chasing them. Ash took off to the left, easily outpacing the flames. He saw Terra using his natural climbing abilities to scale the Heartless, attacking its core. Ash and Ven kept the Heartless preoccupied, dodging its swipes with ease. Simba and Sora leapt onto the Heartless' limbs and climbed up. The three attacked the Heartless' core. Suddenly the core became a separate Heartless and shot lightning at them. Ash's eyes widened when he saw a bolt fly at him.

Ven knocked him out of the way just in time and the two continued running, weaving their way through Groundshaker's legs until they were once again in front. Once more the Heartless swiped at them and was subsequently stunned. "Now's our chance!" Ash shouted. "Don't let it get up this time!"

Sora and Simba let loose a frenzied attack, the two seemed to defy gravity as they continued. Finally they stood before the injured Heartless. "Simba!" Sora shouted.

"Together!" Simba urged. Every one of them let loose a roar that shook the very earth apart. Groundshaker stood and let loose a pained roar before collapsing. They all watched as a gigantic heart emerged from the dissolving Heartless.

* * *

Simba stood with Nala, overlooking his shattered home. "Simba seems fine, now." Sora noted.

"Ha! The king has returned!" Rafiki cheered. He turned to face them. "And it is thanks to you. The Pride Lands will not forget King Simba's courage, or the courage of the ones who fought beside him."

Simba approached them. "Do you think your quest will ever be over?"

"I don't know..." Sora muttered.

"So long as we have our Keyblades," Terra said. "We must keep fighting."

"It's our duty," Ven nodded.

"Ahh, the struggle never ends." Rafiki said wisely. "That is the great Circle of Life."

"Never _ever_?" Sora asked weakly.

"The secret to victory..." Rafiki began. "is a strong heart."

"That's why our Keyblades chose us," Terra said.

"By the strength of our hearts..." Sora whispered. Rafiki laughed.

"Go on, go on, go - go then!" he urged. "Go on, get out! Yes, yes! It is time! Your fight continues..."

Ash nodded. "Till we meet again, Your Majesty."

Simba nodded in return. "I hope that's soon."

"It will be," Sora promised. "So long!" He waved as the Gummi Ship beamed them up.


	34. Atlantica

**A/N: I almost forgot about this world!**

**

* * *

**

"What world is that?" Terra asked, pointing at what looked like a kingdom under the sea.

"It's Atlantica!" Sora exclaimed.

"With Ariel, the mermaid?" Ash inquired.

"Mermaid?" Terra repeated before a mischievous grin crept onto his face. "With clamshell bra and everything?"

Ash rolled his eyes. "Yeah, too bad her dad is the king and would probably kill you if you tried anything." he said as he slid his thumb across his throat. Terra clutched his throat and gulped. Sora laughed at them as the ship landed.

* * *

Ash appeared out of no where. He glanced around, finding himself underwater. Suddenly he felt someone slam into him. "Ouch!" Sora groaned as he rubbed his head. He had a dolphin's tail. Suddenly someone else slammed into both of them.

"Out of the way!" Terra growled rubbing his head. Terra had a tail similar to Sora's except without the dorsal fin. The water glowed and all three of them cleared out, not wanting to get hit again. Ven scrambled out, arms flailing. Donald and Goofy appeared, looking like a squid and octopus. Ash glanced down to see that he had a pure white tail. It reminded him of a Dewgong.

"Oh boy!" Donald exclaimed as he swam around. "Under the sea again!" Goofy hummed in agreement. Ash felt slightly awkward, not being used to the tail. Terra, Ven and Sora seemed to be having similar problems. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted a redhead, a fish and a crab swim up to them.

"Sora! Donald! Goofy" the redhead exclaimed happily. "And you brought new friends!"

"Uh... Hi?" Ash asked awkwardly as Ariel swam around them, examining him. "I'm Ash, and this is Terra and Ventus."

"I'm happy to meet you!" she responded cheerfully before swimming over to Sora. Terra nudged him.

"She's hot." he smirked. Ash made a choking noise and ran his thumb across his throat. Terra flinched. "Don't tell me you're not interested?"

"I'm not." Ash replied. Terra moved away from him slightly. Ash rolled his eyes irritably. "I'm not gay, Terra. I'm just not interested."

"Oh." Terra said sheepishly. "Oh, right! You've got a girlfriend."

Ash nodded. He glanced at Ariel and had to suppress a nosebleed at the thought of Aqua in a clamshell bra...

"Did you forget how to swim already?" Ariel asked them in amusement. Ash took deep breaths to calm himself. Terra was laughing at him silently, having guessed what his problem was after seeing the widening of Ash's eyes.

"Kinda..." Sora admitted. The crab swam up to them.

"Den you boys gotta practice!" the crab, Sebastian, said in a Jamaican accent. "You follow Flounder - he show you what to do!"

The yellow fish swam away from them slightly. "Come on, guys!" he said. "You can do it!"

After some practice the trio got the hang of swimming. Ash was freely swimming all over the place. Terra was floating on his back. Sora and Ven were chasing Donald and Goofy. "That's it!" Flounder said. "You guys are quick learners!"

Sebastian swam over to them. "Now den..." he started."What brings you five into de sea? Is something going on?"

"Kind of..." Sora started. He then started explaining the situation with the Organization and the Nobodies.

"But everything _seems_ peaceful." Terra noted. Ariel turned to him.

"Oh, everything's fine." she confirmed. "As long as daddy's in a good mood..." she said quietly.

"Hey!" the crab exclaimed. "We got a concert very soon! Why don't you sing in my musical extravaganza?" the crab then swam close to them and whispered, "Please say yes! Ariel's been actin' very strangely! But she might settle down an' practice if your dere!"

"That sounds fun!" Donald exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Sora agreed.

"Sorry, but I pass." Terra said lazily. "I'm not much of a singer."

Ash shrugged. "I'm game."

"Me, too!" Ven exclaimed.

The crab turned to them. "Hmm... I'm not sure if I could count on you..." he muttered.

"What?" Ash asked.

"Come on, Sebastian!" Sora insisted. "You can count on all of us!"

"Hmm..." the crab thought. "I got it! A demonstration of your musical talent!"

"Huh?" Ash asked incredulously.

"That's a good idea!" Sora said smirking. Ash glared at him and looked to see everyone staring at him expectantly.

"Fine..." Ash muttered. '_What songs do I know?_' he thought frantically. '_I just gotta wing it...'_ "Okay, here goes nothing..." he cleared his throat.

_I wanna be, the very best_

_Like no one ever was_

_To catch them is my real test_

_To train them is my cause!_

_I will travel across the land_

_Searching far and wide!_

_Teach Pokemon to understand,_

_the power that's inside!_

_Pokemon!_

The various sea creatures in the area were gathering, some even playing crude instruments to go along with his song.

_It's you and me,_

_I know it's my destiny_

_Pokemon!_

_Ooooh, you're my best friend,_

_In a world we must defend!_

_Pokemon!_

_Our hearts so true_

_Our courage will pull us through, _

_You teach me and I'll teach you_

_Pokemon!_

_Gotta catch 'em all!_

_Gotta catch 'em all!_

By this time Ash was really getting into the song, even though it was acceptable to stop at this point, he kept going. The instruments edging him on. Sora, Ven, Donald and Goofy were getting into it too and started singing backup. Arial was laughing and dancing with Flounder.

_Every challenge along the way,_

_With courage I will face_

_I will battle everyday,_

_To claim my rightful place!_

_Come with me, the time is right,_

_There's no better team!_

_Arm in arm, we'll win the fight,_

_It always been our dream! (It's alway's been our dream!)_

_Pokemon!_

_It's you and me_

_I know it's my destiny_

_Pokemon! _

_Oooh, you're my best friend,_

_In a world we must defend!_

_Pokemon!_

_Our hearts so true_

_Our courage will pull us through!_

_You teach me and I'll teach you!_

_Pokemon!_

_Gotta catch 'em all!_

_Gotta catch 'em all!_

_POKEMON!_

"An excellent performance!" Sebastian exclaimed. Terra was shaking his head in amusement. Nearly everyone had joined in, and it was only supposed to be a demonstration. Everyone started cheering and Ash looked away in embarrassment. "That's it, you're in! Now let's get right to work! It's time to rehearse!"

* * *

They spent the next several minutes going over the song and what to do during it. "Okay, I think I got it." Ash said. Terra was to work on the special effects, since he didn't want to sing.

"Break a fin!" Sebastian encouraged.

"Here goes nothing!" Sora said.

_Swim this way _

_We'll dance and we'll play, now _

_It's very easy, come on in _

_Just take a chance and shake a fin _

_Don't be shy _

_Let the music inside _

_And dance, dance, dance!_

_Swim this way _

_We'll dance and we'll play, now _

_It's very easy, come on in _

_Just take a chance and shake a fin _

_See the sign? _

_Can you you reach it in time _

_And tap, tap, tap? _

_Swim this way _

_We'll dance and we'll play, now _

_It's very easy, come on in _

_Just take a chance and shake a fin _

_It's all the same _

_If you've got steady aim _

_Just zap, zap, zap! _

_Swim this way _

_We'll dance and we'll play, now _

_It's very easy, come on in _

_Just take a chance and shake a fin _

_Swim this way _

_We'll dance and we'll play, now _

_It's very easy, come on in _

_Just take a chance and shake a fin _

_Just a touch _

_'Cause it won't take too much _

_To pop, pop, pop! _

_Swim this way _

_We'll dance and we'll play, now _

_It's very easy, come on in _

_Just take a chance and shake a fin _

_Count him in _

_So he'll know to begin _

_To drum, drum, drum! _

_Swim this way _

_We'll dance and we'll play, now _

_It's very easy, come on in _

_Just take a chance and shake a fin _

_Don't dilly-dally _

_It's your big finale _

_Sha-la-la! _

_Swim this way _

_We'll dance and we'll play, now _

_It's very easy, come on in _

_Just take a chance and shake a fin _

_Swim along _

_Just join in the song _

_A musical for everyone _

_To have a lot of finny fun_

"That's it!" Sebastian cheered. "You got it!" Ariel turned to them.

"Sora! Ash! Ven!" she exclaimed. "You three were amazing!"

"We know." Sora said grinning. Ariel laughed. Donald and Goofy swam up to them.

"Hey I wanna sing more lines!" Donald complained. Ariel smiled, but frowned as a large merman swam up to them. She swam away.

"Your Majesty, we have visitors!" Sebastian announced. Sora nodded in greeting.

"King Triton." he greeted. The King nodded.

"I certainly hope there hasn't been any need to use that Keyblade of yours." he said.

"Nope, everything's fine. Not a Heartless in sight." Sora assured him. "Oh! This is Ash, Terra and Ven."

"Nice to meet you, Your Majesty." they both said. Terra a little more nervously than the others. Ash smirked and nudged the young man. Terra glared at him.

"It's nice to meet you both." Triton said.

"Your Majesty, our guests, dey wanna sing in de musical!" Sebastian said.

"Well, that sounds like a splendid idea." Triton said. He swam over to them. "We may need your help after all..." he muttered."You see, I'm afraid Ariel is still infatuated with the human world. A busy rehearsal schedule might be just the thing she needs to stop thinking about life up on the surface." Ash turned to see Ariel floating there absentmindedly. He sighed.

* * *

Sebastian swam up the Ariel. "Ariel?" he called. No response. The crab clutched his head in annoyance.

"Dat girls actin' strange again." he muttered. "Probably been flittin' around on da surface... Ohhh, the Sea King's gonna have my claws for dis!"

Sora swam up to her. "C'mon, we gotta keep rehearsing!" he attempted to cheer her up.

"I'm sorry, but I don't feel like it..." she said quietly as she swam away.

"No! Ariel!" Sebastian hissed. A light bulb went off in Flounder's head.

"I've got an idea, Sebastian!"

"You do?" the crab asked hopefully.

"C'mon! Follow me!" he cried as he swam away. He led them to a sunken ship. A statue was underneath it. "See?"

Sebastian swam up to it. "Oh no, this must be from de human world!"

"I found it after the storm; it must be from a shipwreck." Flounder explained. "Ariel will love it!"

"But if de Sea King finds out about dis..."

"It's better than going to the surface." Donald reasoned.

"Help me move it." Sora commanded. The five of them attempted to lift the statue to no avail. "It's no use..." Sora sighed. Ash got an idea.

"Hold up," he swam away, summoning Oathkeeper. He pointed at the statue and casted Magnet on it. The statue began rising from the sand.

"Good job!" Flounder exclaimed. Sora, Terra and Ven swam over and casted Magnet as well, helping Ash carry it wherever Flounder was leading them.

* * *

Ariel stared at the sunken ship, she sighed. "Ariel!" Sora called. She turned around to see the quintet swimming up to her.

"We'd like ya to come with us, Ariel." Goofy said.

"Have we got somethin' to show you!" Ven exclaimed. They led her into the grotto where she kept her surface collection. She gasped upon seeing the statue.

"Cool statue, huh?" Ash remarked.

"It looks like some kinda prince." Donald noted.

"A prince?" Ariel exclaimed, examining the statue. She smiled sadly.

_Look at this stuff _

_Isn't it neat? _

_Wouldn't you think my collection's complete? _

_Wouldn't you think I'm the girl _

_The girl who has everything? _

_Look at this trove _

_Treasures untold _

_How many wonders can one cavern hold? _

_Lookin' around here you'd think _

_"Sure, she's got everything" _

_I've got gadgets and gizmos aplenty _

_I've got whozits and whatzits galore _

_"You want thingamabobs?" _

_"I got twenty" _

_But who cares? _

_No big deal _

_I want more _

_I wanna be where the people are _

_I wanna see _

_Wanna see 'em dancin' _

_Walkin' around on those _

_"Whad'ya call 'em?" Oh - feet _

_Up where they walk _

_Up where they run _

_Up where they stay all day in the sun _

_Wanderin' free _

_Wish I could be _

_Part of that world _

"Ariel..." Sora muttered.

"We're here to help you," Ash said encouragingly.

"Oh, no!" Sebastian cried. "You five, stay out of it!"

"Look who's talking..." Terra muttered.

"Yeah, you were gonna tell her dad about this!" Ven accused. Sebastian rubbed his face.

"Ooooh, what am I gonna do..." he whispered as he began swimming away.

"I have a bad feeling about this..." Ash muttered.

"I'm sure everything will be fine," Sora assured him.

* * *

King Triton sat on his throne, watching as Sebastian slowly approached him. "You're late, Sebastian." he said. "Is something wrong?"

Sebastian flinched. "No, nothing, Your Majesty."

"That's good," Triton remarked. "So tell me - how is the song for the musical coming?"

Sebastian perked up. "It is finished, Your Majesty!" he said proudly. "And it celebrates all de wonderful things found here in de ocean. It will be my finest work."

"Will it get Ariel's mind off the human world?" Triton inquired.

Sebastian laughed nervously. "Er, yes... well... Probably... Possibly..." He flinched when Triton narrowed his eyes. "I- I mean, most definitely! Excuse me, Your Majesty, I must rehearse... you understand." With that said, Sebastian took off, swimming as fast as he could in the opposite direction.

* * *

Ariel stared at the surface longingly. Sora turned to his friends. "This is terrible!" he hissed. "We've gotta do something!"

"She can't be in the musical like that," Goofy agreed.

"I'll sing her part instead!" Donald offered.

"No!" Everyone shouted, making Donald flinch.

"What?" Donald cried. "Why not?"

"Hey, it's Sebastian!" Goofy exclaimed before things got ugly. Indeed the crab was swimming up to them.

"I've got it!" Sebastian exclaimed. "The perfect musical! I'm sure you'll be able to handle it!" The crab handed them the sheet of music. It was fairly complicated, but nothing they couldn't handle.

"Alright!" Ash exclaimed. "Let's rehearse!"

"Very well," Sebastian said. "Ariel, rehearsal time!" The red haired mermaid swam over, clearly lost in thought.

"Okay..." she muttered. Sebastian sighed.

"Hopefully this will improve her mood..." the crab muttered."Places! Begin!"

_The seaweed is always greener_

_In somebody else's lake._

_You dream about going up there_

_But that is a big mistake._

_Just look at the world around you_

_Right here on the ocean floor._

_Such wonderful things surround you_

_What more is you looking for?_

_Under the sea_

_Under the sea_

_Darling, it's better_

_Down where it's wetter, take it from me._

_Up on the shore they work all day_

_Out in the sun they slave away._

_While we devoting full time to floating_

_Under the sea._

_Under the sea._

_Since life is sweet here_

_we got the beat here,_

_Naturally._

_Naturally ii ii ii_

_Even the sturgeon and the ray,_

_They get the urge and start to play._

_We got the spirit_

_You got to hear it_

_Under the sea._

_Under the sea._

_Under the sea._

_When the sardine begin the beguine_

_It's music to me._

_Music to me ii ii ii_

_What do they got? A lot of sand._

_We got a hot crustacean band._

_Each little clam here_

_Know how to jam here_

_Under the sea._

_Each little slug here_

_Cutting a rug here_

_Under the sea._

_Each little snail here_

_Know how to wail here_

_That's why it's hotter..._

_Under the water..._

_Ya, we in luck here_

_Down in the muck here_

_Under the sea!_

Everyone was breathing heavily by the end. Sebastian swam over to Ariel. "So, what do you think, Ariel?"

"Oh, I think it's a great song, Sebastian." Ariel said absentmindedly. "It's just, not what I want to sing." Sebastian looked appalled as Ariel swam away. "I wanna sing about... how our two worlds can live in harmony - land and sea together!"

"Da Sea King would make chowder outta me if you sang a song like dat!" Sebastian cried.

"If he won't listen," Ariel said slowly. "Then I'm not going to sing at all."

"A - Ariel!" Sora cried, alarmed. The quintet quickly swam after her.

"Hmph," Sebastian grunted, not knowing that Triton was swimming up to him. "How do I get myself into dese situations? Not only has dat girl fallen in love at da worst possible time, but wit a human!"

"Ariel's in love with a human?" Triton repeated, shocked. Sebastian froze and turned around slowly.

"Oh me and my big mouth..." he muttered as he turned around fully.

* * *

Sora and Ash surfaced to find Ariel staring at the shore. "Oh!" she exclaimed. A man had just walked onto the beach.

"Is that him?" Ash asked.

"Uh-huh." Ariel nodded, smiling.

"Let's say something!" Ven exclaimed. He and Terra had surfaced after Sora and Ash.

"No don't!" Ariel cried, grabbing his arm before he could start shouting. "He's a human and I'm a mermaid. I - I don't know what he'd think." The man turned back and walked away from the beach. Something shiny dropped from his pocket, landing in the water. "What's that?"

Ariel swam towards the object; they all saw it enter a crevice. "It looked like a pendant." Terra said.

"It must be his!" Ariel exclaimed. She reached into the crevice, but came up empty handed. "I can't reach it..." she whispered, obviously upset.

"Don't give up just yet," Ash said. He summoned Oathkeeper once more and casted Magnera. The pendant flew out from the crevice right into Ash's waiting hand. He held it out to Ariel. "Here ya go,"

"Oh, thank you, Ash." Ariel breathed as she took the necklace. "Come on; let's go back down before someone catches us." They all followed her back to her grotto, where she admired the necklace. "This is great; I know he'll be happy to have this back."

"And just who is _he_?" a voice demanded. Everyone jumped and turned to see King Triton looking furious.

"Daddy!" Ariel gasped.

"Ariel, you know how dangerous humans are!" Triton growled.

"You don't even know him!" Ariel shouted. "Oh, Daddy, you've told me you don't trust humans. But they can't _all _be as bad as you say. And I'm - well, I'm gonna prove it to you!"

"So help me, Ariel..." Triton whispered. "I'm going to get through to you..." He brandished his trident, which began glowing. "And if _this _is the only way, SO BE IT!"

"Daddy, no!" Ariel cried as a beam of light hit the statue, destroying it. She turned back to her father, her eyes glistening. She let out a strangled sob and swam past him, Flounder and Sebastian quickly following. The quintet glanced at each other before following as well.

* * *

Ariel swam as fast as she could before collapsing on a rock, sobbing. She didn't notice a new figure approaching her. "Ariel, you poor child!" the person cooed. She looked up to see none other than Ursula. Ariel gasped.

"You're Ursula - the Sea Witch!" she exclaimed. "Didn't my father banish you?"

"That's right, angelfish," Ursula nodded. "But how could I stay away when I knew you were so miserable? What you need is a woman's advice."

Ariel attempted to swim away, only for Ursula's voice to stop her. "What if I could make all your dreams come true?"

"My _father_ would never allow it..." Ariel murmured.

"Oh, well..." Ursula muttered. "It mustn't be love, if you'll give up that easy."

"Could... could you really help me?" Ariel whispered. "But how?"

"Well..." Ursula drawled. "The only way to get what you want is to become human yourself."

"A human?" Ariel gasped. "Could you really do that?"

"My dear, sweet child," Ursula cooed as she lifted Ariel's chin. "It's what I do."

Founder and Sebastian swam into the area, gasping upon catching sight of Ursula. "Dis is terrible!" Sebastian hissed. "Flounder, you gotta tell da King!"

"Okay!" Flounder nodded as he swam off. Or at least tried to, as the two suddenly found themselves facing two vicious looking eels.

"Have we got a deal?" Ursula smiled. "I'll turn you into a human right now and all you have to do is sign a little contract."

"A contract?" Ariel repeated.

"That's right, sweetcakes." Ursula nodded. "And the price is just a token. A trifle. What I want from you is... your voice."

"M - my voice?" Ariel repeated, startled.

"I almost forgot, the magic only lasts for three days," Ursula added. "You got to get dear old Princie to kiss you, before the sun sets on the third day. If he doesn't you turn back into a mermaid and belong to me! I suppose you might find my terms a little tough... After all, you _are_ King Triton's daughter. Adored by all of Atlantica! Why you're practically guaranteed a happy life. Are you sure you won't listen to your daddy? All it costs you is your true love. Come on, sweetie pie, this is your last chance, but far be it for little old me to twist your arm."

"Don't listen to her, Ariel!" Sebastian cried, only to be silenced by one of the eels. Ursula smirked.

"Well now, I won't intrude any longer," she said. "I'll be on my way. You _obviously _don't want my help... Too bad about your prince though, he _is _quite the catch."

"Wait!" Ariel cried. Ursula's smirk widened. She snapped her fingers and a contract appeared. Ariel stared at it before a fishbone pen appeared. "All I have to do is sign?" Ursula nodded and watched her. Ariel hesitated before taking the pen. She closed her eyes and turned away as she wrote her signature.

"We have a deal!" Ursula exclaimed, snatching the paper away. "Here you go!"

"Ariel, don't!" Flounder cried as the quintet swam up to them.

"Sora, please!" Sebastian exclaimed. "You've gotta stop her, mon!"

"Wait!" Sora shouted. Ursula ignored him and threw her hands up. A vortex began swirling around her and Ariel. Sora attempted to enter the vortex, but was thrown back. Ariel clutched her thoat as a yellow light flew from her mouth and into a shell Ursula was holding. The vortex stopped with Ursula gone. Ariel was now human, wearing only a simple beige dress. She was flailing, bubbles were escaping her rapidly.

"She can't breathe!" Ash shouted as he grabbed her arm. Terra took the other and they swam towards the surface. Ursula appeared behind a rock and began cackling madly.

* * *

An unconscious Ariel was lying on the beach. Prince Eric strode onto the shore, gasping upon catching sight of Ariel. He ran towards her and began shaking her. "Are you the girl? Please, wake up!" Ariel opened her eyes and gazed at him. They stared at each other for a few moments before Ariel jumped. She quickly stood on two unsteady legs, nearly falling, only for Eric to catch her.

"Whoa, easy there!" Eric chuckled. Ariel smiled sheepishly and attempted to speak, only for no sound to come out. "What's wrong? Can't you speak?" he seemed disappointed. "Oh... well, where did you come from?"

Ariel looked at the sea, only for her eyes to widen upon catching sight of the quintet watching from behind a rock. She began waving her arms to distract Eric and pointed in a random direction. Eric followed her gesture to see a cliff. Ariel blushed and grasped something from her dress. She held his pendant out to him. "That's my pendant!" Eric gasped, taking it. "I - I can't believe you found it! Thank you. Please, come with me. I want to help you." Ariel nodded. Eric took her hand and led her away.

"I wonder what'll happen." Sora muttered.

"We'll just have to wait and see." Terra said, diving back down. The others quickly followed him.

* * *

They entered the reef and Sora turned to his friends. "Looks like things are going well!"

"Gawrsh, shouldn't we tell King Triton about this?" Goofy asked concerned.

"Absolutely not!" Sebastian cried upon entering the reef. "It would break his heart if he found out about dis!"

"Then what do we do?" Ash asked. "He's gonna figure it out sooner or later, and do we really want to suffer once he finds out we knew?"

"We just gonna sit right here and take care of Ariel, dats what we gonna do." Sebastian said firmly.

"I guess that's all we _can_ do." Ven remarked.

"Let's go check on her now." Terra suggested. They all nodded and swam towards the surface. They emerged to see Ariel and Eric strolling on the beach. She laughed silently at what Eric was saying.

"So we just float here and watch?" Sora asked.

"Have you got a better idea?" Sebastian demanded.

"We could make Ursula fix all of this." Sora suggested.

"She wouldn't bother wit you!" Sebastian scoffed.

"Hey, you never know until you try!" Sora defended.

"Hmm... you may be right," Sebastian muttered. "It's gotta be better dan doing nothin'. Can I trust you to take care of Ursula?"

"Oh course!"

"No problem."

Sebastian rubbed his face as the quintet submerged.

* * *

Two days later, Flounder was watching Eric take Ariel on a moonlit boat ride when Sora popped up, followed by Ash and the others. "Where's Sebastian?" Ash questioned.

"Well, Triton wanted him at the palace" Flounder replied.

"I wonder if it's about Ariel." Goofy remarked.

"Most likely," Ash nodded. "She _has_ been gone for two days."

"If King Triton finds out what happened, we're in hot water." Sora said nervously. "Especially since we kept it a secret."

"He's gonna find out what happened anyway!" Ash whispered. "If Ariel turns into a human, her dad's obviously gonna notice. If she doesn't, she belongs to Ursula, and he's definitely gonna notice!"

"Oh, did you happen to find Ursula?" Flounder asked. Donald shook his head.

"She disappeared." he said frustrated.

"How's Ariel?" Ven asked. "She's only got till sunset tomorrow, right?"

Flounder sighed and turned to the boat. He jumped. "Look!" Everyone turned to see Ariel and Eric leaning in.

"Oh!" Sora exclaimed.

"Come on..." Ven whispered. Ash covered Flounder's eyes.

"I can't see!" the fish protested.

"That's the idea!" Ash retorted. He turned back to the boat. The two were only inches apart... Suddenly the boat shook violently, forcing them to sit back down, grabbing the sides.

"What the?" Terra muttered.

"They're okay." Flounder sighed.

"So close..." Sora said with a sigh.

"We should get back to lookin' for Ursula," Goofy said as he submerged. The others quickly followed.

* * *

It was sunset and the quintet popped out the water. "No sign of Ursula anywhere." Sora complained.

"And we're out of time!" Ash cried, gazing at the setting sun.

"We've still got until the sun completely sets," Ven said, trying to be optimistic. He looked at the shore, gasping. Everyone turned to see Ariel, sitting there, sobbing silently.

"Let's see what's wrong." Ash said as he swam up to her. Flounder spotted them.

"Ariel's been crying for a long time." he explained, worried. Suddenly a familiar voice echoed through the area.

_What would I give, to live where you are_

_What would I pay, to stay here beside you_

_What would I do to see you, smiling at me?_

It was a woman with brown hair, walking with Eric! She held onto his arm, gazing at him adoringly, while Eric walked on in a daze.

_Where would we walk?_

_Where would we run?_

_If we could stay all day in the sun..._

"What's up with the Prince?" Sora muttered as they hid behind a rock.

"Look there!" Flounder exclaimed, pointing at a small shell necklace.

_Just you and me, and I could be..._

_Part of your world._

"It's Ursula!" Flounder hissed. "She... she must have turned herself into that girl!"

"She's messing with her own terms of agreement," Terra agreed.

"Okay, that's it!" Sora exclaimed, pointing his Keyblade at the necklace. A beam shot out from the weapon, knocking the necklace off. The necklace fell to the ground, shattering. Two orbs of light emerged from the shattered remains of the necklace and entered Ariel. The redhead stood up, clutching her throat in surprise.

"What... what happened?" Eric asked, dazed. He glanced around and saw Ariel coming out from behind a rock.

"Eric..." she whispered. Eric's eyes widened as he sprinted to her.

"You... can talk...?" he breathed. "You're the one... The girl who sang to me."

"Oh, Eric, I wanted to tell you." Ariel whispered.

"Of course, it was you!" Eric muttered as he mentally called himself an idiot. "You're the one who... who saved me that night in the storm!" Ariel nodded shyly. Eric wrapped his arms around her waist as she looked up at him lovingly. "Oh, Ariel. I'm sorry I didn't figure it out sooner. You're the one I love."

"Eric..." Ariel breathed.

"Not so fast!" Ursula cried, transforming into her normal form. "Do you see what I see?" She pointed at the setting sun and used her arms to drag herself over to them. "You're too late!" She grabbed Ariel, who let out a yelp of surprise, before leaping into the water.

"Ariel!" Eric cried. The quintet quickly submerged to follow them. Ursula dragged the now mermaid Ariel deeper underwater, the quintet hot on her trail.

"Stop!" Sora shouted. To their surprise, Ursula did stop, but only to glare at them.

"Stay out of this, you fools!" she spat. She summoned the contract out of no where. "Triton's precious little daughter signed a contract! Now, dearie... let's see how beautiful you are when I'm through with you!"

Ariel looked at them helplessly. Everyone glared at the Sea Witch. "That contract's no good!" Ven cried.

"Let her go!" a new voice boomed. They all turned to see Triton swimming up to them.

"Excuse me?" Ursula asked incredulously. She gasped as a beam of light made contact with the contract. The contract remained unharmed. "Now, now - Not even the great Triton can't go around breaking binding contracts. Why it just wouldn't do, would it?" She swam right up into Triton's face. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some loose ends to tie up."

She turned back to Ariel, who was being held by Ursula's eels, Flotsam and Jetsam.

"Wait, Ursula..." Triton said softly. "You win. Just promise to let my daughter go."

"But we had a deal." Ursula said slyly. "Unless of course, you're offering to take her place?"

"I'm afraid, I have no choice." Triton grunted. He pointed his trident at the contract and his name appeared in place of Ariel's.

"Your Majesty!" Sebastian cried. Ursula chuckled, which soon turned to a hysterical cackle. Triton was surrounded by a pink vortex as Ursula continued cackling. When the vortex subsided, they saw Triton had been turned into a strange bottom dwelling creature. Ursula picked up Triton's fallen trident.

"At last!" she exclaimed.

"Daddy!" Ariel screamed as she struggled against her captors.

"Hah!" Ursula mocked as she pointed the trident at Triton. "Who's the mighty ruler of the sea now?"

"You - you monster!" Ariel shouted. "Let him go!"

Ursula looked ready to retort when she hissed in pain. Everyone glanced at what attacked her. A harpoon... They all turned to see Eric glaring at Ursula. "Eric!" Ariel cried.

"How dare you?" Ursula shrieked. "Pitiful, insignificant human!" She pointed at Eric and Flotsam and Jetsam swam after him. Sora and the others got in the way, weapons drawn.

"That's enough," Terra said.

"Ha ha!" Ursula cackled as she was surrounded by darkness. "Now you all bow to me!" Everyone quickly swam to the surface, where Ursula had enlarged herself.

_This witch is back to bring her wrath upon the sea_

_Triton can't be rid of me, not that easily_

_And like all who dare defy me,_

_he will learn his lesson well:_

_Never toy with a girl like me_

"You got what you deserved!" Sora shouted. Suddenly Sora and Ash felt themselves being dragged under. They were being held by the two eels.

_Flotsam and Jetsam!_

_Loyal darlings, strong as the tide_

Terra attacked Jetsam with his Keyblade, freeing Ash, while Ven freed Sora.

_Sweetest poopsies, hasten to my side_

_Right now! Mommy needs you._

_Smash those stupid fools!_

_Make them writhe!_

Ursula tried to attack them with a tentacle, but Ash and Sora avoided them. The others scattered. "I don't think so!" Ash shouted. He pointed his Keyblade at the two eels. A beam of light emerged, destroying them.

"Alright!" Sora cheered.

Ursula turned her attention to Eric, who was swimming towards his boat.

_What a feeble human_

_No, I can't believe my eyes_

_Such a stubborn royal_

_who is fighting for his prize_

Ursula slapped him out of the water, making him land on his back into the boat. He lay there, stunned. Ursula turned to Ariel.

_Without your precious mermaid_

_now you're crazy with revenge_

_I suppose I sympathize._

She swiped at the mermaid with the trident. Ariel submerged to dodge before breaking the surface once more. Eric glared at Ursula. "I'm not gonna lose her!"

"Right!" Sora shouted.

"We're with you all the way!" Ven agreed as the five leapt over the boat. Sora sent a beam of light from his Keyblade, which Ursula blocked.

_Flotsam and Jetsam!_

_Loyal darlings, strong as the tide_

Ursula swiped at them. Goofy was hit in the shell, but that only caused him to fly straight into Ursula's forehead, stunning her.

_Sweetest poopsies, hasten to my side_

_Right now! Mommy needs you_

_Smash those stupid fools!_

_Make them writhe!_

The five began swimming away from her. "Sorry, _Mommy_," Sora snickered. "Your poopsies are toast!"

Ursula glared at them and they dodged just in time, as she had swiped at them once more.

_This is not the end, my dears_

_I swear I've just begun_

_It's not over until Ursula has won!_

"That's what you think!" Sora shouted as he leapt from the water. Ursula attempted to block with the trident, but Sora attacked her finger instead, forcing her to release the weapon in pain. The trident flew and stabbed itself into Eric's boat.

"Not... it's not possible!" Ursula raged.

"It's over, Ursula!" Sora snorted as he landed in the water once more.

"That belongs to me!" Ursula screamed at Eric.

"Alright then," Eric grunted as he took the weapon. "You can have it!" He hurled the weapon at her. The weapon stabbed straight through her. Ursula stared at him in shock before screaming as she was absorbed in darkness.

* * *

Eric was searching the water, desperately looking for Ariel. The moon hung high in the sky as a head poked out of the water. "Please, Ariel!" Eric shouted. "You can come out now - it's okay." Ariel hesitated. "Ariel?" Eric questioned. She closed her eyes and dived back down. "No!" He let out a gasp as she flew from the water, giving him a clear view of her tail. Everyone watched in awe. The moon illuminated her, giving her a mystical appearance. Eric could only stare in shock as Ariel re-surfaced.

"You see, Eric?" Ariel whispered. "This is why I went to Ursula."

"This can't be true..." Eric breathed.

"I would have told you sooner..." Ariel began.

"To think..." Eric interrupted.

"Eric..." Ariel whispered. "Good-bye..." She turned away, heartbroken.

"I had all that time and I didn't work on my swimming." the Prince finished with a sheepish smile. Ariel turned to him in shock. Eric dived into the water and swam over to her. "Well, guess it's never too late to learn, right?" He smiled hopefully. "Will you teach me?"

Ariel smiled happily. "I'd love to!" she whispered as they embraced.

"Alright!" Sora cheered. Behind them, Triton slowly submerged back into the water.

* * *

The five were together in the clearing. "Prince Eric is a great guy." Sora said.

"Really brave, too." Ven added.

"Yes, but he _is_ human." Sebastian exclaimed as he swam up to them.

"Not again..." Ash complained. They turned when Ariel and Flounder swam up to them.

"How'd it go with your father, Ariel?" Sora inquired.

"Great!" she exclaimed. "Thanks for your help. I gotta go, see you later!" With that she swam to the surface.

"I almost forgot, Sebastian!" Flounder exclaimed. "But King Triton said this year's festival is so important that the musical better be your best ever!"

"My best ever?" Sebastian repeated.

"What's going on?" Terra asked as Sebastian turned to them.

"You gotta do me a favor." the crab said as he began whispering to them.

"What?"

"Huh?"

"Say what now?"

"But how?"

"We could always use Thundaga." Terra suggested.

"Dat's perfect!" Sebastian cried. Just then Ariel reappeared.

"Let's make this the best musical ever," she said happily. "I'll think off all of you when I sing!"

Ash smiled, happy to see her attitude improved. "And we'll think of you!"

"This won't be a mere musical," Goofy said. "All our feelings will unite in a beautiful song."

"Exactly!" Sebastian exclaimed. "Now let's go!" The crab lead the way into the auditorium of the palace, where everyone was waiting for them. "Places! Go!"

_Welcome the dawning of a happy age of new beginnings_

_Land and sea have come together_

_Joined in peace and harmony_

_Fairytales and miracles_

_Are what we're singing of_

_Our dear princess Ariel_

_Truly fell in love_

_With a prince, a human prince _

_Who lived so far above_

_Wishes really can come true_

_If you want them to_

_And this happiness inside_

_I owe to every one of you_

_How about an introduction_

_To these lovely friends of yours?_

_Come take a bow_

_Donald, Goofy and Sora!_

_Terra, Ven and Ash!_

_Congratulations, dear princess, to you_

_You found your first love, and he found you too_

_We were glad to help you out_

_And very proud it's true_

_Seeing how we made you grin _

_Just makes us want to twirl a gin!_

_Wishes really can come true_

_If you want them to_

_And this happiness inside_

_I owe to every one of you_

_Be so kind and introduce_

_The King and these, his loyal friends_

_Please say hello_

_Daddy, Sebastian, Flounder!_

Triton wiped a tear from his eye. "Ariel, I'm so very happy for you..." he muttered.

_Yes, happy endings are so rare and so few_

_We were glad to help_

_And very proud, it's true_

_Seeing how we made you grin _

_Just makes us want to twirl a fin_

_And other friends of yours_

_That might be waiting in the wings?_

_Come say hello_

_All my friends from ev'ry corner of the world!_

_A new day is dawning of a happy age of new beginnings_

_Land and sea have come together_

_Joined in peace and harmony_

_Fairytales and miracles_

_Are what we're singing of_

_Our dear princess Ariel_

_Prince Eric from above_

_A happy end, forever after_

_Full of joy and love_

The crowd cheered wildly as the singers all took a bow. Suddenly Sebastian's baton began glowing. Sora, Terra and Ash summoned their Keyblades. A show of lights showered as the gate was opened.

The crowd was cheering even louder, assuming it was a part of the performance. Ariel swam up to them. "What's happening?" she asked in awe.

"A new pathway has opened." Sora explained.

"How come I wasn't a part of it?" Ven asked, pouting.

"We didn't think it would happen." Terra shrugged.

"So, wait." Sebastian said. "You gonna go? Dis is good-bye?"

"Good-bye is so final!" Ash exclaimed. "This is more of a farewell."

"That's right!" Goofy cried. "A one, two, three, four:

_Even though we're hittin' the road,_

_our worlds are all connected_

"Which means:" Sora exclaimed.

_We are free to come and go_

"And sing!" Donald added.

_So don't be sad, and always know,_

_we'll come back and say hello!_

They finished as they twirled around Ariel, who smiled happily. They waved to her as the Gummi Ship beamed them up.

* * *

**A/N: I think it's safe to say that was the strangest Chapter ever! Hey guys, how long would you say the events of Kingdom Hearts II lasts? A month or two?**


	35. One Winged Angel

"That was fun!" Ven exclaimed. He turned to Terra. "Terra, why didn't you sing with us?"

"What and look like an idiot? Like the four of you?" Terra asked with a smirk.

"Hey!" the other four shouted indignantly. They glanced at each other before they burst out laughing.

"So where to next?" Ash asked once they had all calmed down.

"Hey, there's Hallow Bastion, er I mean Radiant Garden," Sora corrected himself. Ven took a look and jumped.

"_That's _Radiant Garden?" he gasped.

"Shocking, isn't it?" Terra asked sadly. Ash quickly decided to lighten the mood.

"Well, I'd best go check on the commoners," he joked. That got a laugh out of them as the ship landed.

* * *

"Well, we're here," Ven said upon landing. He was about to continue when they spotted four Soldier Heatless running along the rooftops.

"Wait a sec; I thought everything was supposed to be under control here!" Sora exclaimed.

"Hey, look!" Donald cried. Everyone turned to see the Claymores blinking around.

"Must be the Organization," Sora mused. "We better go see Leon."

"He'll either be at Merlin's house or at the study," Terra reasoned.

"Come on, let's go!" Sora exclaimed as he began running to Merlin's house. Along the way, they ran into Scrooge.

"Er, hey Scrooge." Ash nodded.

"Ah, good to see you," Scrooge replied. He took a lick of his ice cream. "Bless me bagpipes, I did it! I recreated "Sea Salt Ice Cream!"

"Really?" Ash asked. "Can we try some?"

Scrooge got a sly look on his face. "Anything for the Prince," Ash rubbed his head sheepishly. They each took a piece and took a tentative lick.

"Hey!" Sora exclaimed, surprised. "This is really good!"

"Salty, but sweet!" Ven agreed.

"It's been a long time since I've had one of these," Ash reminisced.

"Aye, lad." Scrooge nodded sadly. "Back then, everyone was crazy for it."

"Yeah. Anyway, we better be going, Scrooge." Ash said. "Thanks for the ice cream!" The old duck waved them off as they continued towards Merlin's house. When they arrived they knocked on the door. They waited a few moments before the door opened and Yuffie peaked through.

"Oh, hey!" she exclaimed, opening the door wider. "Come on in!"

"Wait just a second," Sora began. "What happened to this place?"

"C'mon, just get inside." Yuffie urged, glancing around. They stepped inside and saw Cid typing furiously on his computer as Merlin watched. "Come on, Cid, hurry up!"

"Give me a second!" Cid roared.

"Confound it, hurry!" Merlin cried. Cid turned towards him angrily.

"Why you..." he growled.

"What's going on?" Ash demanded. They all turned to face them.

"Well if it isn't the Prince?" Cid smirked. Ash remained silent. "Talk about good timing."

"Why didn't you tell us you were the prince?" Yuffie demanded.

"Look, I didn't even know, okay?" Ash snapped.

"That's quite enough, you two." Merlin interrupted. He glanced over them, spotting Ven. "My word, Ventus?"

"Hi there, Merlin!" Ven replied cheerfully.

"Who's he?" Cid grunted.

"I'm Ven," the blonde boy introduced himself.

"Anyway, the MCP's causin' all sorts of trouble," Cid resumed.

"Not again!" Sora groaned.

"Accordin' to Leon," Cid began. "He went on over to Ansem's study to find out what all the ruckus was about. Turns out the MCP's usin' the data in that computer to crank out Heartless. The MCP's been messin' around with the town's control system, too."

"That MCP sure doesn't know when to quit, does it?" Yuffie shook her head.

"That's a computer program for ya," Cid grunted.

"How's Tron doin'?" Sora asked concerned.

"We can't reach him," Yuffie explained. "We figure he must've been forced onto the game grid."

"And it doesn't sound like a particularly fun game either." Cid said.

"Ugh..." Ash groaned.

"We'll go check on Tron." Sora promised.

"Thanks, kid." Cid grunted. "We're puttin' together an MCP Eradication program. I got a hunch it's almost finished, too."

"Well, I hope your hunch is right for once," Merlin said stiffly. Cid turned and glared at him. Before things got ugly, Yuffie stepped in.

"Listen, we're gonna need Tron's help when that Eradicator's completed..."

"Don't sweat it," Sora waved it off. "We'll make sure to tell Tron!"

"Remember, we're counting on you," Merlin reminded them.

"Roger!" they replied in unison. With that said the sextet took of towards the study. They fought their way through several Heartless, some of them being the breeds from Tron's world. When they got to the castle they spotted an unwelcome sight.

"Liars!" Yuna exclaimed, hands on her hips.

"Wha-?" Sora asked, shocked.

"Leon doesn't have any treasure!" Rikku cried angrily.

"And we fought for you guys," Paine drawled disdainfully. The five of them rounded on the duck who was trying to hide behind Ven.

"Donald..." Goofy sighed.

"I had to tell them something!" Donald defended.

"I don't see how we're going to work this out," Yuna sniffed.

"Well, what do you want _us_ to do?" Ash demanded. To the groups chagrin, they went into a huddle and began whispering. They heard the distinctive sound of Rikku giggling. The three spun around.

"We're just going to take _your_ treasure!" Yuna said, her eyes twinkling mischievously.

"But we don't have any treasure!" Terra protested.

"You sure?" Paine asked. Rikku flew up and examined them.

"Hmm, let's take a look..." she muttered. When she got to Ash she squealed. "Ooohh!" She turned and began whispering in Yuna's ear.

"Okay, we've decided!" Yuna declared. "The Gullwings are taking _all_ of your items!"

"You gotta be kidding me!" Sora groaned.

"Of, foofie," Yuna pouted.

"This stinks," Rikku agreed.

"So not cool..." Paine added.

"Look," Ash said with a sigh. "We're sorry we tricked you, but..."

"Forget about it," Paine sighed. They looked at her, shocked. "Leon told us the whole story. He said your journey's been pretty rough."

"So it wouldn't really be right if we took all your things," Yuna continued.

"We'll root for you!" Rikku declared. "Here, this is from us." She raised her hand and a chest appeared behind the three fairies.

"Bye!" Yuna said. "Good luck on your journey!" The three got into their signature pose, Rikku blew Ash a kiss before they disappeared.

"That was... strange..." Ven blinked. Sora walked up to the chest, tapping it open with his Keyblade. They peered inside to see four green orbs glowing brilliantly.

"This is Curaga!" Terra exclaimed, taking one of the orbs. The others did the same and absorbed the most powerful healing spell.

"Nice present," Ash remarked.

"Come on!" Sora called as he ran towards the castle entrance. "Tron needs help!"

* * *

The six entered the computer lab to see Aerith and Leon watching the door warily. They both spun around, ready for battle upon hearing them approach. "Gawrsh, it's only us!" Goofy yelped. The two looked relieved to see them and lowered their guard.

"You can't talk to Tron if this room gets taken over," Aerith explained.

"Did you check with Cid?" Leon asked.

"Yeah, he says the MCP is acting up again," Terra nodded.

"And the Eradicator?" Leon pressed.

"Almost done," Ven answered. "I'm Ven by the way."

"Nice to meet you, Ven." Aerith smiled. She turned to the older man. "Say, Leon, why don't you go work with Cid? I've got this place under control."

"Are you sure?" Leon asked. "All by yourself?" He flinched under Aerith's death glare. "Er, sorry. It's all yours."

Aerith nodded and left to stand by the door. "How's Tron?" Sora asked.

"We still can't get in touch with him," Leon answered. "Maybe you guys could give it a shot."

"No, we'll talk to him in person," Sora decided. Ash was looking around the room with a strange look on his face.

"Then I have a favor to ask." Leon began. "When you find Tron, could you tell him to come to the I/O tower? That's where we'll upload the MCP Eradication program."

"I/O tower, got it!" Goofy said with a thumbs up.

"Thanks, and watch your backs," Leon told them before taking off. Sora walked up to the computer.

"We'll be there soon, Tron." he promised.

"Wait guys..." Ash said.

"What is it?" Sora asked.

"I remember this place..." the young prince replied, gazing around the room.

_Flashback_

_Two cloaked figures stepped through a Dark Corridor. The taller of the two noticed a camera watching them and destroyed it with a flick of his wrist._

_"What are we doing here, Xemnas?" the younger man asked._

_"Visiting a friend," Xemnas replied, stepping up to the computer. He opened a nearby drawer and took out a small disk. He inserted the disk into the computer._

_"Loading... please wait." a computerized voice stated. "Loading complete. Password?"_

_"Visiting a friend?" the young man pressed._

_"Be patient, Xhäs," Xemnas sighed. He typed in the password 'Another'. A new screen popped up, asking for six new passwords. "Remember this, my friend." Xemnas typed in five names. Ienzo, Aeleus, Even, Dillan and Braig. The Nobody hesitated on the last name before typing it in. Xehanort._

_The screen changed. SYSTEM START. The screen glowed white before returning to the desktop. The disk ejected itself, and Xemnas replaced it in the drawer. "Come, my friend."_

_Xhäs blinked and followed the Superior as he led them down several flights of stairs. They found themselves in Ansem's Heartless Manufactory. A panel was glowing at the foot of the stairs and the Superior stepped on. Suddenly the entire floor glowed as a new stairway was revealed._

_"What the?" Xhäs gasped._

_"Before the original six became Nobodies, we created a new chamber without Ansem's knowing," Xemnas explained before descending the stairs. Xhäs quickly followed him down a flight of long winding stairs. They walked on for several minutes in silence. "Ansem..." Xemnas whispered. "Foolish man..." _

_They reached the bottom, where a door stood before them. They opened with a 'whoosh' revealing a long hallway. As they walked through the hall, Xhäs felt as though he were walking through a prison. All the doors had bars and chains on them. "Xemnas..."_

_"They are empty," the Superior answered as they approached a door at the end of the hall. It opened and the two stepped through. The room was pure white; with black Nobody sigils decorating the walls. A white throne that resembled the thrones in Where Nothing Gathers stood in the center of the room. Xemnas took a seat on the throne, causing all the Nobody sigils to go from black to white. Xhäs followed one of the lines to see a pile of blue armor, along with... a Keyblade?_

_"It's been a long time, my friend..." Xemnas muttered._

_End Flashback_

"There's a hidden room here," Ash muttered.

"Well we gotta help Tron, though," Goofy pointed out.

"You guys go," Terra suggested. "We'll stay here with Ash and figure this out."

"Alright, meet up with us after you do," Sora nodded as he approached the computer. Donald and Goofy approached the transporter, while Ash, Terra and Ven stood off to the side. Sora typed in the necessary keystrokes and joined the two at the transporter. Ash watched as the trio was digitalized.

Terra and Ven turned to Ash expectantly. Ash opened the same drawer from his memory, but the disk was not there. "Alright, it has to be here..." the prince muttered. He checked every drawer in the room, but still, the disk was not there.

"What are you looking for?" Terra asked.

"A small disk, it's black and white." Ash answered.

"Let's check the study," Ven suggested. They left the room and into the study.

"Where could Xemnas have put it...?" Ash asked himself. The three began searching through the various shelves and drawers, but to no avail. "Ugh!" Ash growled as he kicked Xehanort's portrait. He began stomping back to the computer room when Ven noticed something.

"Hey, look!" he cried. Terra and Ash turned to see the portrait had fallen over, but that's not what caught their attention. Taped to the back of the portrait was the very disk they were looking for.

"We really should have guessed that..." Terra muttered as Ash picked the disk up.

"Come on, let's go!" Ash ordered. They entered the computer room and Ash inserted the disk.

"Loading, please wait." the computer said. "Loading complete. Password?"

"Another..." Ash muttered slowly as he typed it in. The computer asked for six more passwords. "Ienzo... Aeleus... Even... Dillan... Braig and... Xehanort."

"Password correct, system start." The screen glowed as the disk ejected. Ash took the disk and pocketed it.

"Let's go!" Ash exclaimed as the trio went through the door Aerith had gone through. The girl blinked at them.

"What are you doing?" she asked. "I thought you went to see Tron."

"Sora, Donald and Goofy are taking care of it," Terra answered. "We still have business here."

"I can handle this myself," Aerith argued. Ash shook his head.

"That's not it," he said. "There's a hidden room here, and we have to get in,"

"We're sure you can handle any Heartless that try to come through," Ven said as they walked past her. Ash led the way as they approached the Heartless Manufactory. As expected, the panel at the foot of the stairs was glowing. Ash stepped on and the floor opened to reveal the hidden stairwell.

"So there _is_ a hidden room," Terra muttered as they followed the prince down the steps.

"Did they _have_ to make the stairs this long?" Ven complained.

"Or at least make an elevator," Terra agreed. They _finally_ reached the bottom, and entered the door. They walked through the long hallway to the other end.

"Well, this is it..." Ash muttered as the door opened. The trio stepped into the room and looked around.

"For some reason... this place looks familiar," Ven commented with a frown.

"That's not the only thing that's familiar..." Terra gasped. They looked to the other end of the room to see the same blue armor from Ash's memory.

"That's Aqua's armor and Keyblade!" Ven cried. They ran to the pile and Ash picked up the helmet. Suddenly the pieces glowed gold and the helmet turned into a small piece of armor that strapped to one's arm.

"But what are they doing here?" Ash asked.

"Xemnas must have found them," Terra suggested.

"He kept calling it... his friend." Ash said with a frown.

"Does that mean that he and Aqua were friends?" Ven exclaimed.

"But then who was his Somebody?"

Terra shook his head. "Who knows?"

Ash heaved a sigh. "Let's head back up." He walked over to the Keyblade, picking it up by the hilt. He smiled sadly when it didn't disappear.

"Let's go," Terra said with a sigh. Ash nodded and focused. Aqua's Keyblade, Rainfall, was engulfed in a bright glow and transformed into a raindrop Keychain. Ash pocketed the Keychain and armor before following Terra and Ven out of the room.

"We have to find a way into the Realm of Darkness," Ash muttered as they walked up the stairs to the computer room.

"But we have to find a way out," Ven pointed out. "Otherwise we'll just be stuck there, too."

"So?" Ash demanded. "At least Aqua won't be alone,"

Terra raised an eyebrow. "Oh, you got a little somethin' for Aqua?" he asked with a smirk. Ash blushed.

"Okay, guys..." Ash said as he stopped them. They looked at him curiously.

"What is it?" Ven asked.

"You know how I have a girlfriend... right?" Ash asked nervously. Terra let out a sigh.

"I should have known..." he muttered.

"What?" Ven asked confused.

"Ven..." Terra said with a smirk. "Aqua is Ash's girlfriend."

"Really?" Ven exclaimed. "How?"

Ash reached into his pocket and pulled out his charm. "Aqua can contact me through his," he explained. "Every time I go to sleep, her heart connects with mine."

"I see," Terra said with a frown. "So do you know where she is?"

Ash shook his head. "All she said was she found some beach,"

"Well that's a start," Ven said optimistically.

"It is," Terra agreed. They all blinked when they heard voices coming from beyond the door.

"Maybe Leon's back?" Ven suggested as they entered the computer room. What they saw was a definite surprise. It was Aerith speaking with...

"Serah?" Ash exclaimed. The two women turned to them, Serah's eyes widening.

"Ash!" she cried as she glomped him.

"What are you doing here?" Ash asked dazed. Serah scoffed.

"We live here, silly," she giggled. "Radiant Garden has always been our home,"

"So where's Lightning?" Ven asked.

"She's at Merlin's, trying to keep Merlin and Cid from killing each other," Serah said with a laugh. She turned serious. "Here,"

Ash looked down to see her holding a disk. "Is that the Eradicator?" he asked. She nodded and handed it to him. Ash approached the computer and inserted the disk.

"Downloading program." the computer stated.

"Let's go, Sora and the others are waiting!" Ven exclaimed as he and Terra stood before the transporter. Ash nodded before remembering something.

"Hey, Serah?" he asked. She turned to him curiously. Ash reached into his pocket and pulled out her pendant. "This is yours, right?"

"That's m- my pendant!" Serah exclaimed. She took it from him and smiled. Ash suddenly found her arms around his neck as she hugged him once more. "Thank you,"

"No problem," Ash replied.

"Hey!" Terra shouted. "Let's go!"

"Right," Ash nodded. "See you later." He typed in the last few keys and stood with his friends. They all closed their eyes as they were transported into the computer.

* * *

Sora, Donald, Goofy and Tron all stood staring at the I/O Tower. "Nothing's come in yet," Tron muttered.

"Guys!" Sora shouted in frustration. "Hurry!" As though in response, the I/O Tower began glowing.

"There!" Tron exclaimed as he hopped up onto the platform

"Alright!" Sora cheered. Tron took a disk from his back and held it up to the light. The disk began glowing, and rose out of Tron's hands. It shot up into the I/O Tower. Tron and the others waited anxiously.

The disk slowly descended and Tron held out his hands to catch it. Once the disk was within his grasp, he looked at it strangely.

"What's it like?" Goofy asked.

"This is very strange..." Tron muttered.

"That's Merlin's magic!" Donald exclaimed.

"Huh?" Tron gasped. "There's a power booster for me! And flight routines for the solar sailer!"

"Meaning... we're set?" Sora asked. Just then the I/O Tower began glowing again.

"Apparently, not yet." Tron replied. Three beams of light shot out from the tower, landing next to the group. The quartet watched as Ash, Terra and Ven materialized before them.

"Alright, you made it!" Donald cheered.

"So how was the hidden room?" Sora asked. "What was in it?"

"It was creepy," Ven answered. "But we found some of Aqua's stuff."

"Aqua... she's your friend, right?" Sora asked. Ven nodded.

"Not only that," Terra said with smirk. "But she's Ash's girlfriend, too!"

Ash glared at him. "Terra..."

"I'm gonna tease you about this forever," Terra laughed. "Better get used to it."

"He's not kidding either," Ven added. "He loves reminding people about embarrassing things."

"Like the time you tried to make cupcakes and ended up burning down the kitchen!" Terra exclaimed gleefully. Ven sighed.

"See what I mean?" he asked.

"_Anyway_," Sora cut in. "Are we set, Tron?" The digital man hopped down from the platform.

"Well, like you Users say..." Tron began. "We won't know till we give it a try!" Everyone smiled at him. "We'll need a sailer to reach the MCP, so let's get to the simulation hangar!"

"Alright, let's go!" Ash ordered. Tron led the way to the hangar, which was just across the way. They stepped onto the sailer, where Tron activated it.

"The sailer doesn't have any defenses," Tron explain. "The MCP isn't stupid; we'll have to defend it!"

"Got it," Sora nodded. Everyone took up positions to defend the sailer as Tron directed the sailer towards the other side. Everyone quickly became distracted as the scenery flew by.

"This is kinda like the Black Pearl!" Ven exclaimed. Tron turned to them and frowned.

"You've got to keep a lookout." he scolded. "The MCP isn't going to just let us waltz in."

"Sorry," Ash said sheepishly. Sora rubbed the back of his head before jumping, as a Heartless appeared next to him. Everyone got into battle stances as more Heartless appeared.

"The sailer's overloaded!" Tron shouted. "With this much weight, the sailer will collapse!"

"Then let's take these things out!" Terra shouted as he destroyed one of the Heartless.

A while later, the Heartless stopped appearing just as the sailer came to a halt. They stepped off to see a large structure that glowed and menacing red color.

"The MCP is straight ahead." Tron stated.

"Time to settle things for good." Sora agreed. The group nodded and took off towards the structure.

Upon enter they stopped to see a large red rotating face. Ash saw movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to see Sark standing there. "Who was that?" Sora asked, having spotted him as well.

"Sark," Tron spat. "The MCP's number two."

"Tenacious little bugs!" Sark growled. "Your time is up! Prepare for de-resolution!"

Three Strafer Heartless appeared, surrounding him. Sora charged in first, destroying a Heartless with each slash before finishing with a stab at Sark. The man grunted in pain before disappearing in a red portal. He reappeared several yards away and fired a fireball at Sora. Ven dashed in and deflected the fireball as Terra leapt at him. Terra slammed his Keyblade into Sark, sending him flying to Ash.

Ash smirked and used both Keyblades and swung them like a baseball bat, sending Sark to Tron. The digital man used Thundaga on Sark, sending him flying into a wall. Sark slid to the ground, where he collapsed to his knees.

"You're... very persistent, Tron." Sark grunted as he got to his feet.

"I'm also better than you." Tron added with a smirk.

"We... would have made a great team..." Sark muttered. Tron summoned a disk and hurled it a Sark's head. The man fell in a heap, where he was electrocuted.

"Now for the MCP." Tron declared, glaring at the rotating face.

"This... thing is the MCP?" Ash asked incredulously.

"That's it," Tron nodded. "Ugly, isn't it?"

"I think that's an insult to ugly people..." Terra muttered.

"Tron!" The MCP shouted. "Don't you understand? We don't need Users. We're advanced - they're superfluous. Be a part of me, and together the world will be ours to control!"

"MCP," Tron shook his head. "You still don't get it, do you?"

The MCP was silent for several moments before it suddenly stopped rotating and showed its face. "Sark..." it called. "Sark! All my functions are now yours!"

A beam of light struck Sark and the man began to glow. Sark slowly stood. Everyone took a step back as he was suddenly twenty feet tall. Sark glared at them as walls appeared to guard the MCP. "Terra, Ven, Donald, Goofy!" Ash shouted. "Keep Sark busy! Sora, Tron, we're taking on the MCP!"

"Got it!" Everyone shouted. Terra and Ven attacked Sark's legs, forcing him to his knees. This opened his head for an assault. Meanwhile, Sora and Ash attacked one of the walls that protected the MCP. They destroyed it, leaving the MCP open.

"Tron!" Sora exclaimed.

"Back in the game!" Tron shouted. "Running execute!" Tron placed a disk before them while Sora and Ash pointed their Keyblades at it, sending a beam of light at the MCP. The MCP screamed in pain as it was being deleted.

"I don't think so!" Sark shouted as he swiped them away.

"Insignificant Users!" the MCP roared as the walls began spinning rapidly.

"What happened to keep him busy?" Sora exclaimed.

"The MCP repaired him!" Tron explained, rolling away as one of the walls shot a laser beam. Ash used Reflera to protect himself against the laser while Sora destroyed the wall once more. Terra and Ven managed to knock Sark down while Sora, Ash and Tron deleted the MCP.

The whole room began shaking and the MCP suddenly turned blue before disappearing. Sark groaned as he too disappeared. Tron pumped a fist into the air. "We did it!"

"I see Tron has a silly side, too." Sora laughed. Tron coughed and attempted to regain his composure. Everyone laughed at him. Tron smiled. "I learned it from you. Of course, I do have my silly limits."

"Okay, then we'll just tweak your program when we get back to the User world." Sora said with a smirk.

"You?" Tron scoffed. "Maybe we better not try that."

"Aww," Sora whined playfully. "How 'bout it, guys? Signin' Tron? Dancin' Tron? Sound good?"

"Yeah!"

Tron let out a laugh. "Okay, okay. But before I _crash_ -" They all turned to him. "Sora, Donald Goofy. Ash, Terra, Ventus. And all the Users out there... Thank you. You really helped me. You made me so much stronger. You taught me what friendship is truly all about. And I'll never forget it. As soon as I met you, I knew we were going to defeat the MCP and free the system."

Tron walked up to Sora and held out his hand. Sora smiled and took it, but yelped when Tron suddenly pulled him into an embrace. "Uh?" Sora mumbled, confused.

"Isn't this what you Users do when they're sorry to say good-bye?" Tron asked.

"Uhh..." Sora muttered. "It's a first for me."

"Gawrsh, Tron," Goofy said. "It's like a promise we'll see each other again real soon."

"Okay," Tron nodded. "Well, then..." Tron walked over and hugged Goofy, who grinned and hugged him back. He then hugged Donald, Terra and Ven. Finally he came to Ash. "Please, give my best to my User."

Ash nodded as they stepped apart. "I will, Tron."

"Until next time..." Tron said as he slowly began backing away.

"Where you goin'?" Sora asked confused. Tron gave a slight wave before leaping over the edge, into the endless white abyss. Everyone gave cries of shock as they rushed to the ledge. "Tron..."

Suddenly the entire room began to shake. Everyone covered their eyes as a bright white light engulfed them all.

* * *

Aerith and Serah turned from the computer when Yuffie rushed into the room. "Things are settling down in town!" the ninja exclaimed. "The only Heartless left anywhere are the local variety. And it looks like there are fewer than before!"

Aerith smiled. "Now if we can just get those six back in one piece..." she trailed off as the transporter activated and six forms materialized before them."You're here!"

"Welcome back!" Serah exclaimed. Sora gave a small nod before smiling.

"How's the town?" he asked.

"A-okay!" Yuffie replied.

"Not a single trace of the MCP, either." Aerith told them. "Everything's back to normal. We made it."

"Hey..." Yuffie said with a frown, as she examined all of there faces. She stopped before Ash, getting uncomfortably close. "Why the long faces? What happened?"

Ash flinched back as Terra snickered. "Tron just disappeared." Donald explained, upset.

"And he promised we'd see him again..." Sora muttered.

"I'm sure he knew what he was doing," Ven said. Just then the alarms began ringing.

"What's happening?" Yuffie exclaimed.

"Greetings friends." Tron's voice called from the computer. "System is up and ready for User input."

"Tron!"

"Stay in touch." Tron said, his voice laced with amusement. Donald rushed up to the computer screen and hopped up, pressing a few buttons by accident.

"Oh boy, oh boy!" he exclaimed.

"Stop, that tickles!" Tron cried.

"Tron is ticklish?" Goofy asked incredulously. Everyone got mischievous grins on their faces as they approached the keyboard.

"How 'bout _this_?" Sora asked as he began pressing buttons.

"P-please, stop that!" Tron said, laughing. Everyone laughed and joined in the button pressing. The girls giggled at their fun.

"I think Tron's been hanging around these guys too much," Yuffie said.

"W-wait just a moment." Tron pleaded. "I want to show you something I dug up from the system achieves. You can see the town back when it was first built. Please, step outside."

"Let's check it out!" Sora said excitedly.

"It'll be nice to see Radiant Garden again..." Terra agreed as everyone walked towards the exit. They stepped outside to see it raining an ethereal glitter. Suddenly images flashed through their minds. Ash remembered it all. The golden pathways, the smiling people, the majestic fountains... taking long walks with his sister. Laughing... playing...

"And that's why it was called Radiant Garden..." Ash sighed.

Just then, as though to ruin the moment a streak of darkness flew into the sky from the Dark Depths of the canyon. "What was that?" Ven exclaimed.

"There's only one person here that wields the power of darkness..." Ash muttered.

"Sephiroth!" Terra said in realization.

"Come on, let's go check it out!" Sora shouted as he took off.

"Wait, he's dangerous!" Aerith screamed. Sora ignored her and kept running. The remaining quartet looked at each other nervously before following him.

* * *

The quintet ran through the Great Maw and into the Dark Depths to see Sephiroth standing at the ledge. "What is Cloud doing?" Sephiroth asked, not looking at them.

"Beats me," Sora shrugged.

"Hmph," Sephiroth grunted. "By the way, you... who are you?" He spun around, pointing his extremely long katana at them. They leapt back, the humans summoning their Keyblades.

"I'm not sure we should tell ya!" Goofy exclaimed.

"Hmph, you again?" he asked Ash, who remained silent. "Well... those are some interesting swords you're carrying."

"They're Keyblades!" Donald growled.

"I see..." the silver haired man mused."So those are Keyblades... and I suppose you must be their chosen wielders."

"So what if we are?" Sora asked warily.

Sephiroth smirked. "It's time we finished this..." he said, getting into a stance."I wonder if it won't change its mind... once I defeat you." Suddenly Sora, Terra, Ven, Donald and Goofy were blown back by a strong gust of wind, as a barrier appeared.

"Ash!"

"Show me your strength!" Sephiroth said as he charged at Ash with blinding speed. The boy barely had time to parry the strike. Ash spun around and attacked Sephiroth, forcing him away. The silver haired man let loose a lightning fast combo attack. Ash used Quick Run to escape before charging in once more. He feinted left before jumping into the air, slamming Oathkeeper into the ground and creating a shockwave.

Sephiroth teleported away. Ash hurled Oblivion at him, but he deflected it as though it were nothing.

"That's enough..." Sephiroth muttered. Ash used Reflega to block his slash and sent a Blizzaga at his back. Sephiroth grunted and teleported away. Ash felt Sephiroth slash him into the air. Suddenly he appeared before him, ready to strike. Ash quickly righted himself and parried his attacks and used Aerial Recovery to escape. Upon landing on the ground, he quickly used a Potion and rolled out of the way, as Sephiroth attempted to attack him.

The silver haired man disappeared again, and reappeared in the air. "Descend, Heartless Angel..." Ash's eyes widened and quickly cast Thundaga, interrupting his spell. The man reappeared beside Ash, where the two began clashing once more. "Perish!" He shouted as he summoned five pillars of flame surrounded them. Ash used Quick Run to escape and continued running, as the flames were pulling him in like a magnet.

"Give into the dark!" Ash suddenly found himself surrounded by orbs of darkness.

"Reflega!" he shouted. The orbs shattered the shield; Sephiroth disappeared to avoid the shards. He reappeared in front of the chasm, out of reach. He raised his arms and meteors began falling from the sky. Ash weaved his way through, occasionally using Reflega when he couldn't dodge.

He was tiring, and Sephiroth knew it. "Descend, Heartless Angel..." A halo appeared above Ash's head, sending a wave of dark electricity through him, and draining his magic. "That's enough..." Suddenly Sephiroth was behind him, and Ash felt an incredible pain. He screamed as he collapsed to his knees.

"Hmph," Sephiroth grunted as he placed his sword at Ash's neck.

"I can't die..." Ash muttered. "Not yet... I refuse. Aqua still needs me!" Ash blocked the slash that was intended for his throat.

"Not giving up yet?" Sephiroth asked amused.

"Not by a long shot!" Ash shouted. "I have someone that needs me! I can't die, not yet!" Suddenly Ash's pocket began glowing, along with Oathkeeper and Oblivion. The ring on Ash's finger began vibrating.

"What's this?" Sephiroth asked, his eyes narrowing. Ash's eyes widened. He stood staring at his Keyblades for several moments before smirking. "What are you smirking about?"

"This..." Ash let go of his weapons, but they remained in the same position, locked with Sephiroth's Masamune.

"What?"

"Let's end this!" Ash shouted as Rainfall appeared and began circling him. He suddenly found himself levitating. Ash grinned and directed Oathkeeper and Oblivion to begin attacking. Sephiroth parried the attacks and disappeared. He reappeared next to Ash, but when he attempted to attack, Rainfall blocked. Ash began attacking Sephiroth with Oathkeeper, while Oblivion circled Sephiroth and began attacking from behind.

Ash flipped backwards, bringing his Keyblades with him and leapt high into the air and slashed Sephiroth with all three. The dark warrior fell to one knee before standing once more. He sheathed his sword and Ash dismissed his Keyblades. The barrier fell, and the others quickly joined him.

"You showed him, Ash!" Ven cheered.

"I admit..." Sephiroth muttered as he brushed himself off. "You're very skilled... But apparently, Cloud is the only one who can eliminate me." He smirked and turned around. "Tell Cloud to meet me here."

"No need!" a new voice shouted. They turned to see none other than Cloud. "I saw the beam of darkness. Sorry to keep you, Sephiroth!"

"Cloud..." Sephiroth muttered as the two approached each other. "You'll never let go of the darkness."

"Shut up." Cloud said quietly, draw his sword. Sephiroth did the same.

"You'll never let go of your past."

"Shut up!" Cloud shouted as he charged at him. Sephiroth jumped high into the air with Cloud following. They let loose a flurry of rapid attacks. Sparks flew as the two clashed.

"Cloud! Get him!" Sora encouraged. Sephiroth sent Cloud flying into a wall. The blonde quickly righted himself before impact and leapt away before Sephiroth could run him through. The silver haired man leapt after him. They clashed several more times in the air and Cloud was sent back to the ground. He dodged as Sephiroth tried to stab him and began running along the wall. He leapt from the wall and parried Sephiroth's strike. They both landed and spun around. Their swords met in the middle, Sephiroth leaned closer to Cloud.

"Absurd." he scoffed. "Defeating me is meaningless. You know that better than anyone, Cloud. No matter how many times I fall, your darkness keeps calling me back!" Cloud's eyes widened and he looked to the ground.

"Wrong!" a woman's voice cut in.

"Tifa, stay back!" Cloud shouted.

"How can I?" Tifa demanded. "I wanna help you!"

Cloud leapt back as Sephiroth slashed at him. "You can't," the silver haired man said. "He'll never let go of the darkness."

"He doesn't have to," Tifa retorted. "He just needs someone to surround him with light." Suddenly, Sephiroth had his sword pointed at her. Tifa jumped back. "The darkness will be there, Sephiroth. But in a place you can't reach."

"Is that right?" Sephiroth drawled. "Let's see what this light of yours can do." He slashed at her, making her dodge. She leapt at him, throwing a punch. He easily dodged a bored look on his face. Cloud winced, as though in pain.

"No!" he shouted. Tifa jumped at him again and threw several more punches, but Sephiroth merely pushed her away roughly. She dodged as he slashed at her several times.

"Look out!" Sora exclaimed. Sephiroth slashed at her with lightning speed. Ash leapt in front of her and deflected the attack with Oathkeeper.

"Stop!" Cloud shouted, covering his eyes, as though blinded.

"Hmph," Sephiroth smirked. "It appears the light is too much for Cloud."

"Cloud!" Tifa cried.

"Are you going to run again, Cloud?" Sephiroth asked cruelly.

"Hurry, Cloud!" Sora shouted.

"Do something!" Donald shrieked. Cloud was beginning to look extremely distressed.

"Cloud..." Ash said softly, but he might as well have screamed it. "Cloud, look at Tifa. _Look_ at her." Slowly, Cloud did so. His eyes widened upon seeing the fear on her face. "Are you going to let Sephiroth hurt her? _Kill_ her? Come on, Cloud... You're not just fighting for yourself anymore."

"That's enough!" Sephiroth shouted as he slashed at them. Ash raised Oathkeeper to block, but it was unnecessary. Cloud stood before them, glaring at Sephiroth.

"Cloud..." Tifa whispered. "You can have my light."

"The light doesn't suit you," Sephiroth argued.

"I don't care if it doesn't suit me..." Cloud muttered. "You're not hurting her." Cloud suddenly began glowing white.

"Stop!" Sephiroth shouted, flying at him. Cloud raised his sword as the white turned to gold. Sephiroth faltered and flew upward. Cloud grit his teeth and jumped. In a flash of light, both were gone.

"Huh?" Ven gasped.

"Where'd they go?" Goofy asked.

"They went someplace else..." Sora muttered. "Cloud went to fight a great battle - to defeat the darkness in him."

They turned to see Tifa approaching them. "Gone again," she sighed.

"What will you do now?" Sora asked.

Tifa closed her eyes for a moment before opening them. "Guess I'll keep looking," she said.

"Got any leads?"

"Don't worry," she replied. "Light is easy to find. I gotta go." She walked over and kissed Ash on the cheek. "That's for saving me. Thank you for helping Cloud."

"No problem," Ash said, blushing. "When you find him, tell him he still owes me a fight!"

Tifa giggled. "Will do, see ya." With that, Tifa took her leave. The sounds of engines roaring caught their attention. They looked up to see the Gummi Ship approaching. Ash sighed and reached into his pocket. He stared at Rainfall's Keychain as the ship beamed them up.

* * *

**A/N: Really, did you expect Serah and Lightning to live anywhere else? A lot of you wanted to see Sephiroth, and I hope I didn't disappoint you :( I really hope I can finish this before the 7th but the prospect's looking bleak.**


	36. The Other Twilight Town

"Hey, Ash?" Terra asked. "When you were fighting Sephiroth... You were controlling three Keyblades without touching them. How?"

"Yeah, that was cool!" Ven agreed.

"I'm not exactly sure," Ash admitted. "I just felt this surge of power, and my Keyblades just started doing whatever I wanted them to. But right now, I can't feel that power."

"Hey, that sounds like one of my Drive Forms!" Sora exclaimed. "Maybe I can do it too!"

"Maybe..." Ash muttered. He placed the Keychain in his pocket once more and sighed. "Where to next?"

"Hey, check out Twilight Town!" Sora said, nodding his head towards the world. Ash frowned.

"It's all hazy," he noted. "Let's check it out."

* * *

The sextet appeared in the station and began walking towards the exit. "Hey, I think we're almost there," Goofy said.

"Huh?" Everyone turned to him confused.

"Gawrsh, aren't we here 'cause of the picture?" Goofy asked. "Look, I'll show ya!" He reached into his pocket and pulled out the photo of the Twilight Town gang and Roxas.

"Yeah, Goofy's right!" Donald exclaimed.

"C'mon, let's go find this mansion!" Goofy said.

"Nothing else to do," Terra shrugged as they left the station.

"Ash, do you know where this mansion is?" Sora asked.

"Yeah," Ash nodded. "It's in the woods, follow me."

* * *

The sextet approached the gates to see Hayner, Pence and Olette lying unconscious on the ground. "Whoa!" Sora exclaimed as he rushed over to Hayner. "Hey, you okay?" Hayner let out a groan as he sat up. "What happened?"

"We came here looking for Kairi," he answered as Ash and Terra helped Olette and Pence up. "Then those white things attacked us..."

"You gotta be careful," Donald scolded.

"Yeah, you guys didn't have to go and do that," Sora said.

"Of course we did," Hayner argued. "Kairi's our friend, too, ya know."

"You're right..." Sora muttered as they both stood. "You know, I've never thought of it like that before."

Hayner turned to the mansion behind them. "Word is, this mansion gets a lot of really strange visitors."

"We thought this place might be the gateway to some kind of alternate Twilight Town." Olette explained.

"Alternate Twilight Town?" Ven asked confused. This was when they noticed Ven.

"Hey, you look familiar," Hayner exclaimed. "Have we met?"

"Uh... I don't think so," Ven said thoughtfully.

"I remember," Olette said. "He was with that weird red haired guy,"

"Red haired guy?" Ash repeated. Olette nodded.

"He wore this black coat and had strange tattoos under his eyes," she explained.

"Axel," Ash muttered to the others. "They must be talking about Roxas."

"Anyway," Sora said, trying to change the subject. "What do you mean by alternate Twilight Town?"

It seemed to work, as they turned to face them once more. "Hey, Ash?" Pence asked. "Could we see that crystal of yours?"

"Uh, sure," Ash said as he took out the small pouch from before along with the blue crystal.

"I made that pouch myself, and I still have it." Olette explained. "So there shouldn't be two of them here."

"And the trophy Seifer gave you," Hayner continued. "Remember, it had four crystals on it?"

"It's the only one of its kind," Pence explained. "Same for the crystals - red, blue, yellow, green - only one of each color. But you've got your own!"

"So where'd ya get it?" Hayner asked.

"The pouch is from the King," Goofy told them. "When he gave us munny for the train ride, he gave us the crystal, too."

"But then, how did the MICKEY get it?" Ash asked.

"See?" Hayner asked. "There's gotta be another town out there like this one. That would explain how the King got that pouch and the crystal. Everything makes sense."

"It does?" Sora, Ash, Terra and Ven asked in unison.

"That other town must be where whatever's missing from here went!" Pence exclaimed.

"Like Kairi!" Olette finished.

"I get it!" Sora nodded.

"You do?" Ash asked. "I'm not so sure," Just then several Dusks appeared around them. One of the Dusks leapt at them, however, a small figure intercepted it and destroyed the Nobody.

"Watch out!" Mickey shouted. The Twilight Town gang nodded and took off. Ash threw Oblivion at a Dusk that was about to attack Mickey from behind. The Dusk was destroyed and the others rushed into battle. Ash found he suddenly had a greater control over the Keyblade. When he threw it, he could control its movements. He could also use this control to Glide over short distances. Eventually the Nobodies stopped appearing and Mickey turned to the others.

"Hey, Mickey!" Ven exclaimed.

"Good to see ya, Ven!" Mickey replied. He turned to face them as a whole. "I got somethin' to tell ya. I found out where Ansem is - Ansem the Wise, the real Ansem! He snuck into Organization XIII's stronghold."

"And we figured out where Kairi is!" Sora exclaimed. "I'm pretty sure we're right."

"But why'd you all come here?" Mickey asked.

"_Someone _gave us a clue," Ash answered.

"Who?"

"Well, Your Majesty," Goofy said. "Sora thinks it mighta been Riku."

"Just a feeling I had," Sora explained.

"Welp, if that's what ya think," Mickey said thoughtfully. "Then it's probably right."

"You mean Riku's okay!" Sora exclaimed.

"If that's what ya think..." Mickey repeated.

"Mickey, what are you hiding?" Ash demanded. The mouse shuffled his feet uncomfortably.

"I've waited long enough, Your Majesty!" Sora exclaimed. "Tell me what you know!"

Mickey turned away from him. "It's not for me to say..." he said with a sigh.

"But, Your Majesty!" Sora cried. "Why?"

"I don't wanna break my promise..." the King said.

"So you _do_ know!" Ven exclaimed, causing Mickey to cover his mouth.

"You made a promise to Riku?" Sora repeated. He pumped a fist in the air. "So he's okay! I can see him again!"

"Who's Riku?" Hayner asked as he, Pence and Olette came out of their hiding spots.

"He's my best friend," Sora explained.

"That's it!" Pence exclaimed.

"Your Majesty?" Olette asked. "You got that pouch with the crystal from Riku, didn't you? And you promised not to tell, right?"

"Gosh, guys..." Mickey sighed.

"That's enough!" Donald shouted.

"Yeah," Sora nodded. "Let's go." He turned to face the mansion. "Kairi, Riku. We're on our way."

The sextet and the King and the Twilight Town gang followed the brown haired boy into the old, rundown mansion. "This place is kinda creepy," Pence shuddered. "Like some monster's gonna pop out at you."

"Don't tell me you're afraid of ghosts, Pence." Hayner said with a smirk. Pence glared at him.

"There's gotta be a computer somewhere." Mickey said.

"A computer..." Pence muttered. "Do you think it's connected to that other Twilight Town?"

"It might be." the King nodded. "And there should be a way into the Realm of Darkness there."

"Riku told you that, didn't he?" Sora accused.

"Please, Sora." the King pleaded. "I made a promise."

"Aha! I knew it!"

"Hey!" Donald shouted. "Stop pestering the King!"

"Right..." Sora said sheepishly. "Sorry..."

"Let's find that computer," Ash said as he went up the stairs. He entered the door on the right. It was a library, but the entire floor was missing to reveal a technological basement. "That was fast..."

"Come one, this _has_ to be it!" Sora exclaimed as he ran down the stairs. They descended the stairs and entered the next room.

"There!" Mickey shouted, pointing at a large computer.

"We found it!" Ven exclaimed as they rushed over to it.

"How does it work?" Donald asked.

"It looks more complicated than the one in Ansem's lab..." Sora muttered.

"I can handle it!" Pence exclaimed. He sat in the chair and began typing. "Okay... Here we go... Ah!"

"What's wrong?" Ash asked.

"I can't go any further without a password." Pence replied.

"Do you have any idea what the password might be?" Mickey asked.

"Well, we only got this photo." Goofy said, pulling it out. Donald quacked.

"And the ice cream bar!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, the one Donald ate up." Sora said thoughtfully.

"It was in the box, right next to the photo." Goofy explained.

"That must be it!" Mickey exclaimed. "Ansem the Wise loved ice cream!"

"Okay," Pence nodded. "What's the name of the flavor?"

"What else?" Ash chuckled. "Sea-salt ice cream!"

Pence typed it in. "It worked!"

Suddenly a machine activated and a beam of light appeared. Sora nodded. "Let's go."

"We'll be here to hold down the fort." Hayner promised.

"Say hi to Kairi!" Olette added.

"You bet." Ash nodded. The sextet and the King stepped onto the small platform as the beam of light engulfed them. The light subsided to reveal the same room, only Hayner, Pence and Olette were gone.

"Are we back in the same place?" Ven asked, confused.

"Nope," Ash said. "Check it out!" He pointed at the computer, which was completely smashed.

"This is the other Twilight Town," Sora whispered. "Roxas' Twilight Town." The brown haired boy got misty-eyed, as though remembering something.

"There's gotta be an entrance into the dark realm somewhere." Mickey said. "Let's go!"

They followed the mouse as they explored the basement. Eventually, they came across a room with that had a small portal in the corner.

"There." Sora said.

"This is it," Mickey nodded. They group glanced at each other before entering the portal.

* * *

Ash glanced around. The space was a mix of colors, with Nobody emblems all over the place.

"What is this place?" Sora asked.

"This is a Corridor of Darkness," Ash answered. "The Organization's main mode of transport."

"Well," Donald said nervously. "Which way should we go?"

"The only way you _can_ go is forward." Ash answered. Sora took a step forward.

"Riku!" he shouted. "Kairi!"

Suddenly they were surrounded by Dusks. "Out of the way!" Ash shouted as he slashed at a Nobody. However, for every one that they destroyed, two more seemed to take its place.

"It's no use!" Terra exclaimed.

"Don't stop moving!" A familiar voice called out. "Or the darkness will overtake you!"

"Axel!" Ash gasped as the redhead appeared out of nowhere, destroying a couple of Heartless.

"Get goin'!" Axel ordered.

"Why?" Sora asked suspiciously.

"Don't ask, just do it!" Axel shouted as the Dusks forced him to the ground.

"Axel!" Ash shouted, destroying the Nobodies. He, Sora and Ven crouched next to him.

"Are you okay?" Ven asked.

"R- Roxas?" Axel stuttered.

"...Kinda..." Ven muttered. "I'm Ventus, Roxas' Somebody."

"Ven... it's you..." Axel muttered.

"Do I...?" Ven's eyes widened. "Lea?"

"Glad you remember me, Ven..." Axel laughed. He looked at them. "Heh, two of my best friends..."

"Axel, now's not the time," Ash exclaimed. "We gotta get outta here!"

Axel shook his head. "Yeah..." he turned to Sora. "I kidnapped Kairi, but she got away from me. After that, Saïx caught her."

"Saïx?" Ash exclaimed.

"That's right, now go save her!" Axel shouted. Sora spun around just in time to destroy a Dusk that was trying to sneak up on them.

"Leave us alone!" he shouted. Ash and Ven helped Axel stand.

"Axel, how long will this portal stay up?" Ash asked.

"This one's permanent, kiddo." Axel replied, summoning his chakrams.

"We have to get to the other side!" Ash shouted as he summoned his Keyblades.

The Nobodies were appearing by the dozens, and Axel was obviously exhausted. Even in his exhausted state, Axel was very capable. He cut through the Dusks with a flick of his writs, or burned them down in a blaze of flames.

"I think I liked it better when they were on _my_ side." Axel joked.

"Feeling a little... regret?" Sora asked.

"Nah, I can handle these punks," Axel said with a smirk. "Watch this!"

"Axel, you better not be doing what I think you're doing!" Ash shouted. Axel leapt into the middle of the fray and summoned a gargantuan pillar of flame. Ash covered his eyes as the light blinded him. When he opened them again, the Dusks were gone.

"Whoa!" Sora gasped.

"Axel, you idiot!" Ash screamed as he ran towards his fading friend. The others followed him.

"You're... fading away..." Ven whispered.

"Well, that's what happens when you put your whole being into an attack," Axel muttered. "You know what I mean? Not that Nobodies actually _have_ beings... right? Anyway, I digress: Go, find Kairi."

"Axel..."

"Oh, almost forgot," the redhead continued. "Sorry for what I did to her."

"When we find her, you can tell her yourself." Sora insisted. Axel chuckled.

"Think I'll pass..." he muttered. "My heart just wouldn't be in it... you know? Haven't got one."

"Axel... what were you trying to do?" Sora asked.

"I wanted to see Roxas," Axel answered. He looked at Ven. "I guess I did get to see him... for the most part. You two _are_ Roxas..."

Ash managed a smile. "It seems all my friends are dying on me..."

Axel shook his head. "Forget about me. Go! Kairi's in the castle dungeon." He lifted a shaky hand and opened a portal on the other side.

"Axel..." Sora muttered as the pyro faded away. He stood up with a sigh. "This leads to..."

"The World That Never Was..." Ash finished.

"Aww c'mon!" Donald shouted. "Let's go!"

Sora nodded and stepped led the way through the portal.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for stopping here, but I wanted to the the World That Never Was as one chapter. Looks like BBS beat me. Oh, well.**


	37. The World That Never Was

The sextet stepped out of the portal and into a dark, dank alley. A few moments later, the King stepped through. Mickey walked ahead of them and into the open. He began glaring at something. Sora quickly followed and gasped. Above them was a moon in the shape of a heart.

"Axel said Kairi's in the dungeon." Sora said.

"Then we better find a way to get to that castle." Mickey nodded. "Do you know a way in, Ash?"

Ash shook his head. "I would always just open a Dark Corridor," he told them. "I would never go on foot."

"Then let's go!" Mickey said as he suddenly took off.

"There he goes again..." Donald grumbled irritably. "Can't he ever wait up?"

"Come on," Terra said. "We better follow him."

The sextet walked through the darkened streets. The place was teeming with Shadows, which were easily dispatched. They had just arrived at the Memory Skyscraper. Sora and Ven were walking ahead of them. Suddenly four Samurai Nobodies appeared, separating the two from the other four.

"Sora, Ven!" Ash exclaimed. A portal appeared and a cloaked figure appeared. A weapon appeared in the figure's hand.

"A Keyblade?" Sora exclaimed, summoning his own to block the attack. Sora, Ven and the cloaked figure disappeared as more Samurai appeared.

"Where did they go?" Terra gasped. Ash destroyed a Samurai.

"No time to talk," he grunted.

* * *

Sora and the Organization member clashed in the center of a platform. The platform was blue and depicted Sora asleep with Ventus opposite him, upside down. The faces of Ash, Terra, Aqua, Kairi, Riku, Donald and Goofy were depicted in the circles.

"Who are you?" Sora demanded as they broke away. Ven charged in and began trading blows with the figure.

"Someone from the dark," the figure answered. He pushed Ven away as he summoned another Keyblade.

"Oathkeeper and Oblivion..." Ven muttered.

"You can't be Riku?" Sora asked.

"Riku?" Sora and Ven noticed that the person sounded exactly like Ven. "I defeated a Riku once."

"You _what_?" Sora gasped.

"Tell me..." the figure asked as he charged at them. "Why were you chosen?" He dragged his Keyblades across the platform, creating sparks and attacked both of them at the same time. Ven jumped away while Sora parried his attacks. The figure leapt over Sora and attacked Ven.

Sora attempted to attack his back, but again the figure leapt away. Ven and Sora jumped at the same time and attacked the person.

"I know who you are..." Ven muttered. The figure remained silent. "You're Roxas."

Roxas grunted and lashed out at them, causing them both to fly into the air. He jumped up after them and attacked in mid-air. Sora landed on the ground, amongst the pictures of Riku and Kairi. Ven landed next to Terra, Aqua and Ash. Roxas looked down at them from the air.

"I see..." he whispered."That's why."

Sora and Ven glared at him as he landed. Roxas charged, kicking Ven out of the way and began a barrage against Sora's Keyblade. Sora lost his footing and slipped. This gave Roxas the opportunity to knock the Kingdom Key out of his hands. Sora rushed towards it, but Roxas got there first.

Roxas had Oblivion at Sora's throat, Oathkeeper kept the Kingdom Key where it was. Roxas jumped out of the way as Ven slashed at him. Sora grabbed his Keyblade and slashed Roxas across the chest.

Oathkeeper and Oblivion fell from his hands. He fell over, his hood falling from his head, revealing a face completely identical to Ven's. He turned to them with a satisfied smile. "You make good others..."

* * *

Sora and Ven blinked as they found themselves back at Memory Skyscraper. "You make a good other..." Sora repeated.

"Are you okay?" Donald asked from behind them.

"What just happened?" Ven asked.

"You just disappeared, and we had to fight a bunch of Samurai." Ash explained.

"He said..." Sora muttered. "That he defeated Riku."

"Who said that?" Terra questioned.

"Roxas," Ven replied.

"But nobody could defeat Riku," Donald said.

"Y- yeah, you're right..." Sora nodded. As they moved forward, Sora took one last glance behind him before following his friends.

The sextet continued on until they reached a ledge. The base of the castle could be seen, but remained unreachable.

"Dead end?" Donald asked.

"There's gotta be a path somewhere," Mickey insisted. "Let's think about this..."

* * *

Meanwhile, Kairi was curled up into a ball in the corner of her prison. Pluto approached her and whimpered. She let out a small smile and pet the dog. Suddenly Pluto's ears twitched, signaling that someone was approaching. Kairi stood and approached the bars of her prison. Saïx appeared and looked at her impassively.

"What are you going to do with us?" Kairi demanded.

"You're the fire that feeds Sora's anger," Saïx said in a monotone. With that said he took his leave.

"No..." Kairi whispered. "Sora's in danger because of me..." As she spoke a portal opened behind her, drawing Pluto's attention. The dog barked, causing Kairi to spot the portal. She backed up against the bars when a blonde girl appeared.

"This way!" the blonde whispered.

"Who...?" Kairi began.

"Believe in yourself," the girl interrupted. "I can take you to Sora and Ash,"

"Who is Ash?" Kairi demanded irritably. "Everyone keeps mentioning him, but I have no idea who he is!"

"I'll explain, just hurry!" the girl whispered. Kairi slowly made her way over to the girl. She took her hand and gasped when their hands began glowing.

* * *

The sextet covered their eyes to the bright light. Suddenly, their Keyblades appeared in their hands. They nodded at each other and pointed towards the castle. As usual, a bright beam of light erupted from the tips. They watched as a bridge of pure light was created.

"Kairi," Sora whispered. "We're almost there."

Ash took a tentative step on the bridge, confirming it was solid. He motioned for the others to follow and crossed the bridge. Upon reaching the other side, Sora looked around frantically.

"Kairi!" he shouted. "Where are you?"

"Shh!" Terra shushed him. "Remember, we're in their stronghold!"

"Which means they have the home field advantage," Ash said with a frown. The King suddenly took off again.

"Wait!" Donald cried. He sighed when the King disappeared around the bend. Ash suddenly felt a chill run up his spine.

"Be careful," Terra muttered. As several varieties of Nobodies appeared. "I think we've got company."

* * *

Kairi followed the girl, Naminé. "My _brother_?" she exclaimed in shock.

"Yes," the blonde nodded.

"Tell me more about him," Kairi pleaded. "Please?"

"Well," Naminé said thoughtfully as the rounded a corner. "He's very brave, recklessly so. He can be pretty smart when he puts his mind to it. He's also very selfless; he'll do anything to help others."

"He sounds nice," Kairi said sadly.

"Don't be sad," Naminé said soothingly. "You'll meet him soon."

Kairi blinked. For a second she could have sworn she saw Naminé's image flicker.

"That's not going to happen..." a familiar voice said, as a portal opened before them. Saïx stepped out. "Kairi, I'm afraid leaving is not an option." He held out his hand. "I'll take you to see Sora." Kairi took a step back, making Saïx withdraw his hand. "You don't want that?"

"I do," Kairi nodded. "I want to see him. I want to meet my brother. More than anything. But not with you around!"

She braced herself for a fight, Naminé did the same. Saïx raised an eyebrow. "If I had a heart, this would be where I die of laughter." He suddenly stiffened and turned around in time to see one of his Berserkers fall over, revealing a cloaked figure wielding a Keyblade. "You..." Saïx muttered. "Didn't Roxas take care of you?"

Naminé visibly relaxed. "You can take it from here, Riku."

Kairi's eyes widened. "Riku?" she asked shocked. She turned back to the two men. Riku dismissed his Keyblade, surprising Saïx. Suddenly Riku released a ball of darkness at the blue haired man. Saïx blocked at the last second, but Riku flew through the smoke and slammed him against the wall.

Saïx smirked and opened a Dark Corridor, disappearing. Riku was about to follow him when...

"Wait!" Kairi exclaimed. She stared at the person before her, trying to see her old friend. Pluto bound forward, barking happily. Riku stepped away from the dog, but the animal persisted. "Riku... You're really here." Kairi whispered. She lifted his hood to reveal an older man with tanned skin and gold eyes. He looked away, as though ashamed.

"Kairi..." he sighed.

* * *

Sora dismissed his Keyblade as they destroyed the last Nobody. "C'mon, let's go!" They followed him until they reached a platform where they could see everything in the castle.

"Twilight's View," Ash said. "Nothing special, let's keep moving. The Hall of Empty Melodies is up ahead."

They followed Ash into a large room with a large platform on either side. They stepped into the center of the room warily.

"You've done well," Saïx said from the platform.

"Where's Kairi?" Sora demanded.

"Who knows?" Saïx asked in a bored tone. "I expect she's catching up with her friend from the darkness."

"What do you mean?" Sora growled.

"She doesn't need you anymore." Saïx answered.

"I'm supposed to believe that?" Sora asked incredulously.

"Well, you don't have to," Saïx shrugged. "But you can believe this... Organization XIII has no further use for you..." He pointed at the heart shaped moon in the distance. "Just look there! Our Kingdom Hearts... Thanks to you, we've collected countless hearts... Can you hear their euphoria? Now all they need is one more helping from the Keyblade bearers!" He snapped his fingers, causing a large group of Shadows and Armored Knights to appear from the walls.

"We gotta fight!" Donald exclaimed.

"But - Kingdom Hearts!" Sora whispered.

"Sora!" a new voice cried. Everyone turned to see a red haired girl standing on the platform opposite of Saïx. "Sora, it's really you!"

Sora did a double take. "Kairi!" he gasped. His distraction costed him, as he was tackled to the ground by Shadows.

"Leave Sora alone!" Kairi shouted she took several steps back before leaping over the side. She attempted to continue going, but was attacked by more Shadows. They Heartless forced her to the ground. "Sora -" Suddenly she was on her feet once more. She turned to see Riku nod at her.

He held out his hand, which held a flowery Keyblade. She took it and a name flashed into her mind. _Destiny Place._ "This time, _I'll _fight." she smirked at Riku. "You know Sora's completely hopeless without us! C'mon Riku!"

Riku watched as she attempted to dispatch a few Shadows before jumping into the fray himself.

Saïx watched all of this happening before catching movement out of the corner of his eye. He looked up to see Pete and Maleficent. "Well, well..." he muttered."Will the intrusions never end?" He smirked and disappeared through a Dark Corridor.

Maleficent smiled. "Why, Pete," she exclaimed. "This castle is perfect! Perhaps we should... acquire it."

"Well," Pete said thoughtfully. "The setup is... kinda nice, I guess, but what about all the Heartless? This in-between world - its way to close to the darkness! They ain't gonna listen to us here!"

"Once again, you underestimate me..." Maleficent sniffed. She turned towards the ongoing battle and smirked.

* * *

Mickey ran through the halls of the castle, dispatching any Nobodies that got in his way. He finally came across a man wearing a red cloak on the ground, surrounded by Dusks. He easily destroyed the Nobodies and the man stood once more. Next to him, a strange device was lying on the ground.

Slowly, the man stood, removing the bandages that hid his face. The bandages fell, revealing a man in his mid-forties with short blond hair and red eyes.

"It's been too long, my friend." he said.

"Ansem the Wise," Mickey accused. "Why didn't you come to me before things got so bad?"

"Xemnas, the Organization's Superior, is the Nobody of Xehanort, my foremost apprentice." Ansem muttered. "The burden was mine to bear."

"Is that all?" Mickey asked deadpan. Ansem turned away from him and faced Kingdom Hearts.

"I won't deny there was more," he admitted. "I was obsessed with thoughts of revenge. My apprentices stole everything precious to me - my research, my pride, my home... my family."

"I can't help you with revenge," Mickey told him.

"I know," Ansem said quietly. "Riku's told me a thousand times."

"Where is he?"

"He must be with his friends by now," Ansem replied. "Riku was a great help to me. I found him wandering in the darkness, after you and he lost track of each other"

"Gosh, we didn't lose each other exactly," Mickey admitted. "Riku left... well, 'cause Xehanort's Heartless was still inside his heart, troubling him. And he sure must've been suffering. But what I don't understand, is why he looks like that now, when he's still Riku at heart..."

"I am to blame..." Ansem muttered. "When I met Riku the first time, he still had the appearance of a boy. Probably because he had such a strong heart. I asked him to find a young man named Roxas from Organization XIII, and bring him to me. When I told him it would help Sora awaken from his slumber, Riku left without a word.

"He fought Roxas, and I can only surmise Riku lost that fight. Riku must have realized then: to fight in the Realm of Darkness, he would have to immerse himself in that same darkness. And when he did, you saw what became of him... When Riku brought Roxas back to me, he was introducing himself... as Ansem. If that was what it took to awaken his friend, he was ready to live in darkness. Riku was the victim of my revenge... Oh how my heart ached. I could only laugh, to hide my shame."

"I guess it musta been after that when I saw Riku again," Mickey said thoughtfully. "He said he wanted to help Sora, but he made me promise - Promise that Sora wouldn't ever find out about what happened to him while he was out in the darkness."

Ansem looked back up at Kingdom Hearts. "My friend, the time has come." he declared. "I must make amends to these young people." With that he took up the machine he had dropped and continued down the hall with Mickey at his side.

* * *

"Get off!" Ash barked as he slashed the Shadows off of Sora. The brown haired boy nodded his thanks before glancing upwards at Kairi and 'Ansem'.

"What's going on?" he exclaimed. Ash saw movement out of the corner of his eye and pushed Sora out of the way. The others turned to see a laser arrow in the ground. Suddenly it began raining arrows, destroying the Heartless.

"Have you been good boys?" a familiar surfer accent asked.

"Xigbar!" Ash shouted. "Show yourself!"

A Corridor opened above them and Xigbar stepped out. "Oh, it sounds like you haven't," he muttered. "Sora, Roxas! Ash, Xhäs! You really put Organization XIII in a pickle. Why is it that lucky number XIII always turns traitor?"

"Braig!" Terra shouted. Xigbar grinned at him.

"Long time no see, kid!" he chuckled.

"Stop rambling!" Sora shouted.

"Rambling?" Xigbar scoffed. "As if! All I'm tryin' to tell you, traitors, is that your time is up!" He held out his hands and summoned his arrow guns.

"Here he comes!" Goofy cried, pulling out his shield.

"No. II: Xigbar, the Freeshooter." Ash stated. "He can control space and defy gravity. His biggest weakness is that he has to reload every few rounds."

"Got it," Sora nodded.

Xigbar immediately began firing from his position above them. "You really shouldn't have betrayed us."

"Knock them back!" Ash shouted as he kicked one of the arrows back at him. Sora and Ven quickly followed his example.

"Clever little sneak!" Xigbar laughed before teleporting down to their level. He appeared directly above them and shot arrows down at them. Terra quickly casted Reflega as Ash attacked him in mid-air.

Suddenly the arena changed. They were standing in a small square with holes that formed a crossroad. Xigbar began teleporting and firing at the same time. Terra and Ven flanked him while Sora and Ash went straight down the middle. Sora leapt at him striking him in the stomach, and causing the arena to revert to normal.

"Sora!" Xigbar shouted as he began glowing blue. "Take this!" A giant blue arrow shot out from his arrow gun, and began flying all over the place. Ven jumped up, kicking the arrow back at Xigbar. The arrow injured him but continued to fly around. The arena changed again.

They all stood in a single square arena, Xigbar stood in the center. "Let's see how you dance!" He was glowing silver as he began going trigger happy.

"Keep moving!" Ash exclaimed as he dodged the arrows. Sora and Terra used Reflega to protect themselves, Donald and Goofy, while Ash and Ven dodged the arrows. The arena changed once more and Xigbar teleported to the other side.

"R for reload!" Xigbar said. Ash took the chance and leapt at him.

"Blades don't need reloading." he shouted as he slashed him across the chest. Ash leapt back and glared at Xigbar, who had his arrow gun trained on him. The Freeshooter fell to his knees, his weapon falling out of his hand. He chuckled slightly.

"Still got it, kid..." he muttered as he faded away.

"Sora!" Donald exclaimed. "It's Kairi!"

Everyone looked upwards towards the fight above them.

* * *

Mickey and Ansem entered the Hall of Empty Melodies. Mickey looked over the ledge.

"Uh oh, they need our help." he said in concern.

"The Keyblade wielders are coming together," Ansem muttered. "We have no part to play here."

"Gee," Mickey sighed as he watched them. "I wonder if Riku will ever change back."

"Riku chose that form so he could use the power of darkness," Ansem explained. "It won't be easy." With that said he turned and resumed walking towards his destination. Mickey glanced at them one last time before following him.

* * *

At the Alter of Naught, Xemnas stood, gazing at Kingdom Hearts. "Yes..." he muttered."Kingdom Hearts... Rejoice and feed on these hearts we offer! Shine your pale light on this empty realm... Share your power with all Nobodies!"

Behind him a Dark Corridor opened and Saïx stepped out. "Xemnas, is Kingdom Hearts ready?"

"Very soon..." the Superior murmured.

"Then, I can end this charade?"

"Indeed."

Saïx allowed a feral grin to cross his face. "How I've waited to hear that," he muttered as he disappeared.

* * *

The sextet re-entered the Hall of Empty Melodies to find all the Heartless destroyed.

"Kairi, you were great!" Donald exclaimed.

"Oh?" she asked, blushing slightly. She and Sora stood staring at each other for several moments.

"You _are_ different, Kairi..." Sora whispered. "But I'm just glad you're here!"

"You and Riku never came home, so I came looking for you..." she muttered. Sora looked away.

"I'm sorry..." he said softly. He jumped when he felt her draw him in for a hug.

"This is real..." she whispered. Sora smiled and hugged her back. Ash smiled softly at the reunion. Beside him, Terra sniffed. Ash turned to him, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not crying..." Terra muttered.

"Uh huh," Ash said grinning.

"I'm not!"

"Whatever you say,"

"Shut up, Ash!" Terra growled.

Kairi's eyes widened and she broke away from Sora. The brown haired boy smirked and stepped out of the way. "Ash...?"

Ash blinked and turned towards her. He smiled sheepishly. "Hey, I guess you're Kairi?"

"No, what gave you that idea?" Terra muttered. Ash glared at him. Terra smirked back at him.

Kairi took a hesitant step forward. Sora nodded in encouragement. Ash barely had time to register her movements before she was hugging him. "You're my brother...?"

Ash hugged her back awkwardly. His friends snickered at his discomfort. Ash suddenly found himself being bombarded with questions, such as what their old home was like, or where he lived now.

"Whoa, whoa!" Ash exclaimed. "One at a time!"

'Ansem' watched the scene unfold before opening a Dark Corridor. "Ansem, wait!" Sora cried. "I mean, Xehanort's Heartless... I never thought for a second that I'd ever see _you _again. Just thinking about all the things you did makes me really mad. But... You saved Kairi, right? I have to be grateful for that... Thanks."

'Ansem' nodded and began walking away. Kairi, however ran after him and grabbed his arm. "Riku, don't go!"

The sextet did a huge double take. "Huh?"

"Kairi, what did you just say?" Sora asked in shock.

"Riku," she repeated.

"I'm no one," Ansem/Riku said. "Just a castaway from the darkness."

"Sora," Kairi pleaded. "Come here! Say something to him!"

Sora hesitantly approached the two. Kairi took both of their hands. "Here," she said softly. "You'll understand." She placed their hands together. "Close your eyes," Sora did as he was told. He watched as, in his mind, Ansem's figure slowly faded away to reveal his best friend.

"Riku..." Sora whispered, falling to his knees. "It's Riku. Riku's here..." Sora tried his best to keep tears from falling. "I looked for you!"

"C'mon, Sora..." Riku said, his voice suddenly changing to that of a teenager. "You've got to pull it together."

Sora shook his head. "I looked everywhere for you!"

"I didn't want you to find me," Riku replied, looking away.

"But it was him that was helpin' us, wasn't it?" Goofy whispered. Donald shrugged. "Those clues we kept findin', it musta been Riku."

Riku smirked. "I was staring to worry you guys weren't ever gonna catch on," he teased. "Sora never did pick the brightest of friends."

"Excuse me?" the other five demanded.

"I hope you know you're included in that description," Ash grumbled.

"Why didn't you let me know you were okay?" Sora asked.

"I told you," Riku said. "I didn't wanna be found. Not like this. I... couldn't. I fought with Ansem. With... Xehanort's Heartless - when it invaded my heart, and I won. But to use the power of darkness, I had to become Ansem myself."

Terra had gone stiff throughout the explanation. Ash and Ven gripped his shoulders.

"Does that mean, you can't change back?" Kairi asked.

"This battle isn't over," Riku replied. "And until it is, I still need the power of darkness."

"Then... let's finish it." Sora said. "You're still Riku, no matter what!" He turned to look at all of his friends. "So how 'bout it? Think we can handle one last rumble together? The King's waiting!"

"Yeah!" Ven cheered.

"Let's get going." Terra agreed.

"It's time to end this," Ash nodded. With that said, the group made their way towards the final confrontation.

* * *

**A/N: Enter Riku, one of my favorite characters!**


	38. Onward

Ansem and Mickey stopped at a ledge near Kingdom Hearts. "This spot should do," Ansem declared. He set the device on the ground.

"What's this gadget for?" Mickey asked.

"It's a device to reclaim Kingdom Hearts and encode it as data," Ansem replied.

"Not sure I get it," Mickey said.

"I do not claim to know the outcome of this venture, either," Ansem admitted. "After all, hearts are unpredictable."

He grabbed the machine and aimed it directly at the heart-shaped moon. The gadget began humming as a laser shot out at the moon.

* * *

The octet entered a room where two portals stood. "I don't like this place," Kairi shuddered. "It feels like a graveyard."

"This is the Proof of Existence," Ash stated. "Each of the portals takes us to a member's personal quarters in the castle. When a member is eliminated, their panel turns red. See the two still standing?" They nodded. "Those portals will take us to Saïx and Luxord."

"What about this one?" Ven asked, staring at a blue panel in the corner. Ash walked up to it. It depicted Oathkeeper and Oblivion.

"No. XIII: Roxas. The Key of Destiny." Ash read.

"Why is it still blue?" Sora asked.

"Roxas lives on inside the two of you," Ash explained, gesturing towards Sora and Ven. "But we need to keep moving, you see how the door is blocked? We need to eliminate Luxord and Saïx to get through."

Ash led the way through the nearest portal. _The Gambler of Fate._

* * *

They appeared on the other side. They all looked up to see a laser touching Kingdom Hearts.

"What's that?" Sora asked.

"It's the King and DiZ," Riku explained. "I mean, Ansem the Wise. They must be higher up, we better hurry."

Suddenly a Corridor opened, separating Ash and Sora from the others. Luxord snapped his fingers and the others were trapped by giant cards. The cards began rotating rapidly. He snapped his fingers again and the cards separated, revealing the others to be gone.

"You!" Sora growled.

"I'd rather we skip the formalities," Luxord drawled. "The first to run out of time, loses."

Ash got the first strike, knocking him back with his Keyblades. "Do you know the rules?" Suddenly there were four cards before him. Ash knew this game. He carefully watched them and flipped one over, revealing an O.

Luxord was quickly running out of time. He scattered the cards across the field and hid underneath one. He emerged from one nearby and attacked them. Ash quickly parried his attack and retaliated. He disappeared underneath one of his cards once more.

Luxord reappeared and Sora showed him just how much he appreciated his card games by setting his cards on fire. Suddenly the two were surrounded by cards. Luxord stood before them, smirking.

"Fine four O's!" Ash explained. Sora nodded and watched the cards. He found one and slashed at it. Ash found two more and Sora found the final one. The cards disappeared, leaving Luxord standing there.

Sora charged at him and he summoned a shield of cards to protect himself. Sora slashed straight through the cards, cutting them in half. They disappeared, leaving Luxord on his knees.

"How could you, Roxas? Xhäs?" Luxord muttered.

"That's _Sora_!" the brown haired boy growled, quickly getting annoyed. They turned to see Luxord's cards reappear along with the others.

"You okay?" Kairi asked them.

"Of course," Ash snorted. "Luxord's a pushover."

Sora nodded. "Let's keep moving." he said as he walked towards the portal.

* * *

They entered the Proof of Existence once more. Riku narrowed his eyes. "I can sense Saïx, he's using something to boost his power." he exclaimed.

"No. VII: Saïx." Ash said. "He draws his power from the moon. When the moon is full, he can go berserk."

"I see," Riku mused. "We'd best be careful." The others nodded and moved into Saïx's portal.

They entered the Addled Impasse, where Saïx was gazing at the moon. He turned to face them, smirking. "Only you could have made it this far, Xhäs, Roxas..."

"Okay, seriously, that's getting old!" Sora said annoyed.

"Yeah, they may be our Nobodies, but we're still us!" Ven agreed. Saïx lifted his giant claymore.

"Different names, same fate..." he muttered.

"Kairi, stay back," Ash whispered. She glared at him. "Look, I know you want to fight, but do you honestly know what you're doing?" She didn't look happy but nodded regardless.

"Riku," Sora began. Riku just nodded and took Kairi's arm. The two made their way away from the fight.

"Can you feel it?" Saïx asked as he rose into the air and began glowing. "The moon's power?"

Suddenly Saïx began moving at amazing speeds. "All shall be lost to you!" He flew into the sky and threw his claymore into the ground, creating a shock wave. Ash jumped over it and grabbed the fallen weapon. He rushed at the blue haired man and used his claymore against him. He stopped glowing and fell to the ground.

Saïx summoned his claymore to him once more. He was now calmer and moved slower. "I will win this time."

They charged at each other. Ash parried the blow from Saïx's claymore with Oblivion and slashed at him with Oathkeeper. Terra flanked him and attacked from behind. Ven hung back with Donald, casting Thundaga.

"Move aside!" Saïx shouted, slamming his claymore into Terra and Sora. He then proceeded to attack Ash.

Ash could see Saïx was getting angry. The feral glow in the Nobody's eyes told him so. "We have to end this fast!" Ash shouted. Sora nodded and entered his Drive form. Everyone covered their eyes as the transformation was brighter than usual. When they opened them again, they saw Sora floating there, clad in silver.

"Whoa, a new form!" Ven exclaimed. Sora grinned.

"Let's test it out!" Sora proceeded to let loose a flurry of lightning fast attacks. Ash saw he was controlling his Keyblades through telekinesis.

"No!" Saïx shouted, as he desperately tried to defend himself. "We're so close..."

"Not gonna happen!" Sora shouted, slashing him across the chest.

"Why..." Saïx muttered as he dropped his claymore. "Kingdom Hearts... where is my heart?" He reached out towards the moon as he began to disappear.

"Only the Superior is left..." Ash muttered. He looked towards the sky. "Watch out, Xemnas."

"We have to keep moving," Riku said. "The King is waiting for us."

They entered the Proof of Existence. "The path is open, Xemnas is just ahead." Ash said. The others nodded and began walking towards their final fight. Ash noticed Kairi looking upset. "Something wrong, Kairi?"

"I wish I could fight like you guys..." she whispered. "You shouldn't be the only ones getting hurt."

Ash smiled. "Tell you what," he whispered back. "Once this is over, I'll teach you how to fight."

"I'd like that," Kairi said smiling.

"And if things go smoothly, I've got someone who can help you, too." Ash told her.

"Who?" she asked curiously.

"Her name is Aqua," he replied. "She's a Keyblade Master."

"Wow..." Kairi whispered.

"But first, we gotta find our dad..." Ash muttered.

"Ansem the Wise..." Kairi said. "Our dad's a king right?"

Ash nodded. "Of Radiant Garden, our old home." He looked forward. "Come on, let's catch up to the others."

* * *

Ansem's arms shook as he held onto the device. He chuckled slightly.

"Ansem?" Mickey asked.

"I'm a fool," Ansem muttered. "I've spent years studying the workings of the heart. Yet it seems I still haven't learned a thing!"

"What d'ya mean?"

"The process of encoding hearts is incalculable." Ansem said. "The inhabitants of my Twilight Town were data created from real hearts. I was convinced they would think and behave the way in envisioned - but I couldn't have been more wrong. A heart is so much more than any system. I saw it when Roxas and Kairi crossed paths. I knew, but I was too stubborn to accept it.

"It's always the same. I try to wrap my mind around things my heart already knows, only to fail. While I was trying to bring Sora back, I had so many plans in store. But once Sora was an acting force, they fell apart. All my research amounted to nothing, compared with that one boy's heart." The machine began sparking.

"Ansem, the machine!" Mickey exclaimed.

"All the more proof that hearts cannot be contained by data," Ansem sighed. "Run, my friend! It's going to self-destruct, and anything could happen!"

"But..."

"Your Majesty!" Sora cried as the group ran up to them.

"Sora..." Ansem muttered. "The rest is up to you. And Roxas - I doubt you can hear me - but... I am sorry."

"Ansem!" Mickey cried.

"My heart is telling me what I must do!" Ansem barked. "Please allow me to do what it says."

"No..!" Mickey tried to stop him, but Riku held him back. "Riku!"

"His heart's decided, we can't change that," Riku said. They all turned when a Corridor appeared. Xemnas stepped out.

"I was wondering who would dare interfere with my Kingdom Hearts." he turned to them. "And look - here you all are. How convenient for me. Ansem the Wise... You look pathetic."

"Have your laugh," Ansem muttered. "I deserve as much for failing to see you for the fool you are."

"Students do take after their teachers," Xemnas retorted. "Only a fool would be your apprentice. After all, none of this would have happened without you. _You_ are the source of all Heartless. It was your research that inspired me to go farther than you ever dared."

"I admit, my disregard brought chaos to more worlds than one," Ansem said. "But what were _you_ seeking? You erased me from the world, only to take my name and continue research better left forgotten. Is this the answer you were looking for?"

"All that and more," Xemnas replied. "I'm carrying on what you yourself began, and I'm creating a brand new world, one heart at a time. I thought you'd praise me, but all you ever do is hold me back. I understand, though. Unlike me, you have a heart. And you're powerless to control it. Consumed, by the jealousy you feel toward the student who surpassed you."

"Xehanort," Ansem muttered. "Foolish apprentice of a foolish man. You have surpassed nothing - -only proved how little we both know. We may profess to know the heart, but its essence is beyond our reach. We're both ignorant - -as oblivious as when we began. I'm afraid that any world you try to create... Any world of yours... would be an empire of ignorance. That is why you and your creation are destined to fall! We've said enough, Riku, you know what to do! King Mickey, my friend, forgive me! Farewell!"

"Dad!" Ash shouted.

"Good-bye, my son."

"Daddy!" Kairi exclaimed.

"I love you..." A blinding light occurred as Riku erected a shield around them. The machine exploded in a shower of lights, creating a swirling vortex. The force knocked them all back. Thousands of hearts flew down from the heavens. The Nobodies below all clamored around, trying to get a heart.

Many of the hearts faded into darkness, creating Heartless. Eventually the light subsided, leaving everyone on the ground. Xemnas had long since teleported away. Sora looked up at his friends and did a double take upon seeing Riku.

"Riku!" Sora gasped. His friend was back to his normal self. Riku slowly stood up, a blindfold covering his eyes.

"Ansem did say _anything _could happen..." Mickey said sheepishly. Ash stared at the spot his father had just occupied. He felt someone grab his hand and looked to see Kairi smiling sadly. Ash nodded at her and looked towards the Alter of Naught.

"Riku, you gonna take that off?" Sora asked. Riku looked at him confused before remembering his blindfold. He slowly reached up and slipped it off. He opened his eyes to reveal bright blue orbs.

"What was that?" Ven questioned.

"His eyes couldn't lie," Mickey explained.

"Lie?" Sora repeated. "And just who were you trying to fool? Huh? Huuh?"

"Myself..." Riku replied quietly.

"Riku," Sora sighed. "C'mon, man! Why did you try to do so much on your own?" He walked over to stand beside the others. "You've got friends... like us!"

Riku looked at them all strangely. They all nodded at him. "Have you forgotten?" he asked Sora. "I'll tell you why." he smirked. "Cause I'm not a total sap like you."

Sora grinned. "Say that again!"

Riku smiled, but his face turned serious when Kingdom Hearts began absorbing more hearts. "Uh oh..." Donald muttered.

"What should we do?" Sora asked.

"We must defeat Xemnas." Riku replied. "He's the Organization's last survivor, besides Roxas and Xhäs."

"Right..."

Riku threw off his cloak, revealing a white vest and blue jeans. "C'mon!"

* * *

The group rushed through Ruin and Creation's Passage. They were about to enter the Alter of Naught when Kairi cried out.

"Look!" She pointed at the windows. Thousands of Shadows were pouring through.

"There's gonna be no end to this!" Riku gasped.

"Together we can stop 'em!" Sora grinned. Riku nodded when suddenly two figures appeared before them.

"Be gone from here!" Maleficent ordered. "Leave these creatures to us!"

"But there's no way we can take 'em all!" Pete argued.

"I will be sending them after Xemnas," she replied. "Or perhaps you would rather fight them yourself?"

"Frankly, my dear," Pete began. "I'd rather... RUN!"

"Off with you then!" Maleficent spat. Pete backed away until he spotted Mickey.

"Well, if it ain't the boat-boy King."

"Time to weigh anchor, Captain Pete!" Mickey said.

"What?" Pete asked. "Like abandon ship? I don't think so!"

"Sora, 'Your Majesty'! Do not forget - when I've destroyed them all, this castle shall be mine!" Maleficent shouted.

"Now lookie here," Pete said. "Opportunities like this don't come along every day, ya know." With that he and Maleficent charged at the Heartless.

"We gotta hurry," Mickey said.

"But..." Sora began.

"We don't have time, Sora." Terra said.

"They're doing what their hearts command," Mickey told him. "We can't interfere!"

Sora nodded and followed the King into the next room. They climbed the steps of the Alter to see Xemnas, his arms raised.

"Ohh... my Kingdom Hearts... ruined." he muttered. "Now I'll have to start all over again. Warriors of the Keyblade! Go forth, bring me more hearts!"

"No!" the Keybladers cried as they pointed their weapons at him.

"Denizens of light, answer this: why do you hate the darkness?" Xemnas asked.

"Aw, we don't hate it." Mickey replied. "It's just kinda... scary. But the world's made of light _and _darkness. You can't have one without the other, 'cause darkness is half of everything. Sorta makes ya wonder why we are scared of the dark..."

"It's because of who's lurking inside it." Riku said.

"Then allow me another question," Xemnas drawled. "You accept darkness, yet choose to live in the light. So why is it that you loathe us who teeter on the edge of nothing? We who were turned away by both light and dark - never given a choice?"

"That's simple. It's because you mess up our worlds." Terra answered.

"That may be... however, what other choice might we have had?"

"Just give it a rest!" Sora shouted. "You're Nobodies! You don't even exist! You're not sad about anything!"

Xemnas laughed. "Very good." he said. "You don't miss a thing. I cannot feel... sorrow... No matter what misery befalls the worlds. No matter what you think, what you feel, or how you exist."

He raised his arms as the air around them began glowing. The light got so bright, they had to cover their eyes. Ash opened his eyes to find that he was at the Memory Skyscraper. Sora looked around in confusion.

"Does this bring back _memories_, Xhäs?" Xemnas asked. "It should."

Ash froze. This was where Xhäs got his scar. Ash un-froze just in time to block Xemnas' attack. He flipped away as Xemnas unleashed a barrage of attacks with his Ethereal Blades. Ash retaliated with by skidding behind him and slashing at his back. Xemnas leapt away and was engulfed in darkness. Ash looked up to see him on top of the building.

He leapt onto the building and began running straight up. When he neared the top, Xemnas jumped off. The Superior fell past him as Ash continued running. Xemnas crouched as he landed. He jumped to the side as Sora slashed at him. Xemnas and Sora parried each others attacks, though Xemnas slowly pushing the Keyblader back. Ash reached the top of the building and jumped off. He aimed for Xemnas as he fell. Ash used his momentum to slam against Xemnas' Ethereal Blades, forcing him back. Sora took the opening at let loose a stream of attacks.

Xemnas fell to one of his knees. "I win this time," Ash said. Xemnas just laughed.

"So you think..." he muttered as he disappeared. The surrounding area began to fluctuate.

"What's going on?" Sora asked.

"Sora?" Kairi's voice called.

"Kairi?" Sora exclaimed.

"Ash!" Ven's voice shouted.

"I'm seriously gonna kill that guy..." Terra's voice muttered. Ash watched as the Skyscraper disappeared around them.

"Sora, Ash, answer me!" Kairi yelled. Suddenly Ash fell on his face in an undignified heap after tumbling out of a portal. He grunted as Sora fell on top of him.

"You're okay!" Mickey sighed in relief. Sora quickly got off of him.

"Ouch!" Ash groaned as Donald smacked his leg with his staff.

"Why do you keep disappearing on us?" Donald demanded.

"Where's Xemnas?" Sora asked. Everyone looked around. Donald quacked and pointed towards Kingdom Hearts. Xemnas was absorbing its power.

"Hear me, Kingdom Hearts!" Xemnas shouted. "It seems we must begin anew. Ah, but know this: I will give to you as many hearts as it takes. Mark my words! You can no more be complete without me than I without you. Heed me, Kingdom Hearts! Lend me your power, so that we may be complete! The power to erase the fools that hinder us."

"Xemnas, no!" Mickey exclaimed.

"Hearts quivering with hatred..."

"Xemnas, don't!" Sora screamed.

"Hearts burning with rage..."

"You won't win!" Ven shouted.

"Hearts scarred by envy... That fool Ansem said the heart's true nature was beyond his understanding. Buts it's not beyond mine! Hearts are the source of all power!"

Kingdom Hearts began glowing. Ash covered his eyes to the glare. He opened them again to see Xemnas gone.

"Xemnas, you can't hide from us!" Sora shouted.

"We're not gonna let him get away now!" Mickey exclaimed.

"Look at that!" Kairi gasped as a giant door appeared.

"What's goin' on?" Goofy asked.

"Kingdom Hearts..." Mickey whispered.

"Let's go, Xemnas must be inside." Riku ordered.

"The worlds gave us this doorway," Mickey said. "They want us to be the guardians of their destiny."

"Once we go through there," Terra began. "There's no turning back."

"It's victory... or oblivion..." Ven said quietly.

"So, are you ready?" Riku asked. Sora nodded.

"Let's end this."

* * *

**A/N: I hate Ansem's monologues! :Z I can't believe we're almost done!**


	39. Journey's End

The six Keyblade wielders stepped forward. Sora and Ash were in the center. Riku and Mickey stood on Sora's right. Terra and Ven stood on Ash's left. They placed the tips of their Keyblades together. Light began gathering and they raised their Keyblades to the door. A beam of light erupted from the tips and the door opened.

"Get ready, Xemnas." Sora whispered.

"It all ends here!" Ash finished. They walked through the door to see a world similar to the World That Never Was. The only difference was the castle now seemed to be alive. Xemnas' voice carried through the city.

"So... it seems your hearts have led you to obliteration." he said. "Perhaps it doesn't pay to be too loyal to one's heart. I will have to be sure and remember that."

He raised his arm and a building began falling. "Get back!" Terra shouted. They bolted back towards the door as the building almost crushed them. Ash looked up to see Mickey and Kairi on the other side of the door.

"No!" Riku exclaimed as the door shut. Everyone stood.

"We can take him on our own!" Sora declared, summoning his Keyblade. Ash, Riku, Terra and Ven did likewise. Buildings began rising as they charged through the city. Terra leapt forward, slashing straight through a building, causing it to collapse.

As they neared, the castle floated upwards before slamming back down. The platform they were standing on rose. Xemnas sent buildings flying at them. Sora surged forward and leapt into the air. He slashed his way through and jumped to the next building and slashing it in half. The others quickly followed his path and made their way towards the dragon-castle.

They landed on one of the cannons. A group of explosive Heartless appeared. Ash jumped up and slashed at one, sending it flying into the cannon and damaging it. The others followed his example. The cannon began emitting sparks.

"It's gonna blow!" Ven exclaimed. Sora spotted something.

"There!" he cried pointing at a pipe. He jumped onto it and onto the energy core. The others followed him as the cannons collapsed and broke off. The septet began their assault on the energy core. Sora dove into Final Form to deal massive damage. Terra and Ven kept the Nobodies at bay while the others focused on the core.

"Let's go!" Ash shouted, climbing the stairs. They arrived at the top to see Xemnas, wearing a full suit of armor. Ash charged at him, only to be stopped by six lances. Terra had similar problems with a pair of claymores.

"He's using the other members' powers!" Ven shouted as he kept a group of water forms at bay.

"Sora, Riku, you deal with Xemnas!" Ash shouted. He parried the lances as they tried to skewer him. Sora and Riku were careful to avoid the other weapons flying around as they attacked Xemnas. The Superior knocked them back with a swipe of his sword.

"Fools..." Xemnas spat.

"Time to end this, Xehanort." Terra growled after destroying the claymores. Xemnas chuckled.

"By destroying me, you will only destroy yourself, Terra." he said cryptically.

"What are you talking about?" Terra demanded.

"For you see... I am you," You could hear the smirk in his voice.

"What saying?" Ven growled.

"Do you not remember, Terra?" Xemnas questioned. "After I took control of your body?"

Terra quickly paled, nearly dropping Earthshaker. "You stole my body..."

"That is correct, I am not Xehanort's Nobody," Xemnas said cruelly. "I am _yours_."

"No..."

"You're wrong!" Ven shouted. "You're not Terra!"

"Believe what you wish, fool..." Xemnas drawled.

"He's right," Ash exclaimed. "There's nothing of Terra left inside of you, only Xehanort! You stopped being Terra the moment you lost your heart. Terra's heart was released, and you can see where it ended up!"

"Terra's here to stay!" Ven said. Terra smiled at them weakly.

"Thank you..." he muttered.

"Regardless, you cannot defeat me," Xemnas spat.

"Think again," Ash exclaimed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his charm. Terra and Ven did likewise. Sora pulled out the one Kairi made for him. "So long as we're together, we can't be beaten!"

"Time to end this!" Sora shouted, charging at Xemnas. The Superior blocked Sora's attack with his massive sword. Riku rose into the air and began firing a Dark Aura at Xemnas. The Superior moved to attack Sora, but Terra stepped in, locking blades with the Nobody. Ven took his chance and swooped in, slicing Xemnas across the chest.

Suddenly they found themselves back at the Alter of Naught. Xemnas stood before them, clutching his chest. "I need... more rage... I need... more hearts..."

Sora sighed. "Xemnas. There's more to a heart than just anger or hate." he said. "It's full of all kinds of feelings. Don't you remember?"

Xemnas looked up at them. "Unfortunately... I... don't..." he whispered as he faded away.

Sora let out a sigh of relief as Donald and Goofy began laughing. Ash also sighed. The journey was finally over.

"Gosh, you all did great!" Mickey praised. Riku stared off into the distance.

"You're coming back with us, right?" Sora asked him.

"I had given into the darkness..." Riku muttered.

"Riku!"

"How am I gonna face everyone?" Riku demanded.

"Like this!" Sora exclaimed, making a wierd face. Riku's lip twitched upward before he began laughing out loud. Suddenly the castle shook violently.

"Hurry!" Mickey exclaimed.

"I'll open a path!" Riku said, raising a hand, only for nothing to happen. He stared at his hand in confusion.

"You don't belong to the dark realm anymore, Riku." Mickey explained.

"Then how do we get out?" Ven asked. Ash felt a pressence behind him and turned. He smiled at Naminé, but frowned when he saw she was transparent. She turned and opened a portal.

Mickey and Donald ran right through her, as though she were a ghost. "Who did this?" Donald asked.

"Welp, I'm not sure," Mickey said. "But we better hurry and get through." Suddenly Pluto ran up behind them and through the portal.

"Hey, wait for me!" Goofy exclaimed, running after the dog. Mickey and Donald quickly followed. Terra and Ven followed at a slower pace. Sora, Kairi and Ash approached as Naminé reappeared.

"Thank you, Naminé." Kairi said.

"Sure," the blonde nodded. She turned to the two boys. "See? We meet again, like we promised."

"Huh?" Sora asked. Ash nodded.

"So this is it, huh?" Ash asked.

A new voice, one that sounded much like Ven, echoed through the area. "You said we'd meet again, but we might not recognize each other."

Sora looked around wildly. He jumped when Roxas stepped out of him, transparent as well. "I did, didn't I?"

"But I knew you," Roxas continued. "I think I understand. I see myself the way you remember me. And you see yourself the way I remember you."

"I always thought that Nobodies were doomed to fade back into darkness," Naminé said.

"Yeah," Roxas nodded. "But we didn't. We found our original selves!"

"So we can be together again!" Naminé said happily. Roxas nodded.

"Right, anytime Sora, and Kairi are together."

"We'll be together everyday, right?" Kairi asked.

"Um... yeah!" Sora agreed.

"They sure will," Ash said, putting an arm around both of them. He then turned to Sora sternly. "But only if I get to supervise."

This sparked immediate protest, but Ash wouldn't have any of it and ignored them both. Naminé and Roxas smiled at the scene.

"He'll make a good brother," Roxas whispered.

"Of course he will," Naminé said. She then added in a quiet voice. "He always has been."

Kairi finally gave up arguing and held out her hand. Naminé smiled and took it. She closed her eyes as Kairi absorbed her. Sora watched in awe.

"Look sharp!" Roxas exclaimed. Sora quickly regained his composure as Roxas faded back into him. Sora looked himself over.

"Don't worry," Riku assured him. "You're all still you," Kairi stepped into the portal.

"Hey, let's go home!" she said.

"Come on," Sora said.

"Yeah," Riku nodded. The three boys walked towards the portal. They gasped when the portal began closing.

"Sora, Riku!" Kairi shouted as the portal closed.

"What?" Sora gasped.

"I _knew_ it was too easy!" Ash fumed.

"What is that?" Sora asked, pointing at a figure in the distance. Ash examined it, his eyes widening.

"It's that dragon thing!" he gasped. The dragon slammed into the Alter, causing it to become unstable. Riku jumped over the side, snagging a small Gummi Ship. Sora nodded and hopped on. Ash activated his Keyblade Ride and took off after them. Ash shot down anything that got too close. The Gummi Ship absorbed lasers and turned them into some kind of powerful laser attack.

Ash watched as the dragon crashed into the ground. He growled when the dragon began absorbing the darkness surrounding it. The three took off and landed on the head of the dragon, where Xemnas sat waiting in his armor. They charged at him, only to be sent flying by a sword slash. Ash grit his teeth as he found himself free falling.

The dragon erected a shield. Ash glided towards a building piece. Riku landed on it and nodded at him. Ash slashed it like a baseball, sending the building flying into the shield, Riku then sliced the building in half, breaking the shield all together.

"Sora, are you sure you can trust Riku?" Xemnas asked as they landed on the head once more. They ignored him and charged. The three let loose a barrage of attacks. "Riku, are you sure you're not jealous of Sora?" Xemnas knocked them away. "Ash, are you sure of your friendships?"

"Shut up!" Ash growled.

"Riku!" Sora shouted. Riku and Sora began a flurry of attacks. Their Keyblades shot beams of light as they slashed. They finished by throwing their Keyblades into the air, where they began gathering power, and causing heavy damage to Xemnas.

"Time's up!" Riku taunted as he caught his Keyblade. The two tapped fists and turned towards the enemy. A blinding light occurred, forcing them to cover their eyes.

When Ash opened them, he found them to be in a white expanse. Xemnas stood before them, wearing some kind of black and white version of his cloak.

"Heroes from the Realm of Light," he shouted. "I will not allow it to end this way - not yet. If light and darkness are eternal, surely we nothings are the same! Eternal!"

"You're right," Riku nodded. "Light and darkness are eternal. Nothing probably goes on forever, too. But guess what, Xemnas?"

"That doesn't mean you're eternal!" Sora finished. Xemnas let out a laugh.

"No more eternal than that radiance of yours." He suddenly appeared beside Sora, grabbing him by the collar and throwing him in the air. He attempted to slash at him, but Sora managed to avoid the attacks. Suddenly Xemnas knocked his Keyblade out of his hand. Riku grabbed the Kingdom Key and tossed it to Sora.

Sora managed to block just in time, as Xemnas tried to stab him. Ash charged in and attacked him. Suddenly, Ash found himself disarmed as Xemnas electrocuted him. Sora charged at Xemnas, only for a clone to block his path. Riku fired Dark Auras at the clone, keeping it busy while Sora rushed in and rescued Ash.

"That all you got?" Riku taunted. They found themselves surrounded by vines. Ash used Reversal to get to the other side of the vines, catching Xemnas unawares. The Superior lashed out at him. He erected a shield, keeping Sora and Riku at bay. Ash parried his attacks until Xemnas slashed him across the face. Ash screamed as he clutched the wound.

"Ash!" Sora shouted, rushing over to him. "Curaga!"

"This ends now..." Xemnas muttered as he brought his hands together. The entire area was bathed in darkness as they suddenly found themselves surrounded by laser beams. Ash was still on his knees in pain. Sora didn't get the chance to heal him completely. Sora and Riku began twirling their Keyblades, deflecting the lasers and keeping Ash protected. They moved at amazing speed, but they were quickly tiring. Ash took the time to heal himself.

Finally the lasers subsided, and all three were on their knees panting. Suddenly Xemnas kicked Riku and Sora aside. Ash suddenly found an Ethereal Blade at his throat. He looked up to see a cruel smirk on Xemnas' face. "Farewell, my friend..."

Xemnas brought his blade down, but Riku intercepted. Xemnas growled and took the opening, striking Riku in the stomach. Riku grunted in pain as Xemnas knocked him aside.

"Sora!" Riku grunted. Sora leapt forward, taking Riku's Way to the Dawn. He punched Xemnas in the stomach before letting lose a flurry of attacks. He flipped backwards next to Riku and Ash. He lowered his Kingdom Key to their level. They nodded and placed a hand on the weapon. A beam of light shot out from the tip, impaling Xemnas.

"No... this is... not over..." Xemnas growled as he staggered to his feet.

"It's over..." Ash muttered slashing him with Oathkeeper. Xemnas reached out to them, only to erupt in a shower of lights. With a roar, Xemnas faded into the very element he controlled. Nothing.

"We did it!" Sora cheered. Ash sighed in relief and wiped the blood from his face.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that," Riku muttered, as they were surrounded by Dusks. They prepared themselves, but the Dusks simply disappeared. Riku collapsed to his knees. "Sora... I can't..."

"Don't say another word!" Sora scolded. "It's not over. It's just not..."

Ash let out a miserable sigh. "I'm starting to believe that, too, Sora..."

"It's not over!" Sora growled.

The silver haired boy looked at him incredulously. "How can you say that?" he asked. "Even if we could go on... look where we are."

"Aw, c'mon, Riku!" Sora sighed. "You've been hangin' out in darkness too long. You gotta try and think positive."

"Sora... you lead..."

"Got it..."

* * *

"You know, Sora..." Riku said softly. "I always figured I was better at stuff than you."

"Really..?" Sora asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Are you mad?"

"No," Sora shook his head. "I always figured you were better at stuff, too."

Ash was starting to feel like he was intruding. He looked up. "Hey...?" he whispered. "What's that light?" Sora and Riku looked up to see a patch of light before them.

"Let's check it out," Sora said as he helped Riku walk towards the light. They suddenly found themselves at a darkened beach.

"End of the road..." Riku muttered. Sora nodded.

"Yeah..."

Ash's eyes widened. He could make out a figure in the distance. Without a second's thought he ran towards the figure.

_It was her._

"Aqua!" Ash shouted. Her head snapped around so fast, he thought it might fall off.

"A- Ash?" she whispered. She suddenly flung herself at him. "Ash!"

He wrapped his arms around her. He could feel her clutching at him, like she was afraid he might disappear. "I'm here, Aqua..."

"You came..." she muttered, burying her face in his chest.

"I always keep my promises, Aqua." Ash said. He couldn't say any more, as her lips were suddenly glued to his own. The pure emotion behind that kiss made them both weak in the knees. A cough brought them both back to reality.

"Get a room!" Riku laughed.

"Don't be jealous, Riku." Ash said as he held Aqua tighter. "Guys, this is Aqua. Aqua, this is Sora and Riku."

"Heya!" Sora greeted.

"Nice to meet you," Riku said. He turned to Sora. "Hey, Sora. Can you help me? I wanna get down to the water."

"Sure thing," Sora nodded. The four of them made their way to the water's edge. Aqua leaned on Ash as they sat.

"At least the waves sound the same..." Riku muttered. He and Sora closed their eyes.

Ash continued to hold Aqua. "We have to find a way out..." he muttered. "I promised..."

"It's okay..." she whispered. "You're here..."

Ash was about to say something, but spotted a bottle being washed ashore. He picked the bottle up and opened it. He skimmed through the message and smirked. "Hey, Sora?"

"Hmm?" he asked, opening his eyes.

"I think this is for you..." Ash handed him the piece of paper. Sora took it curiously and read it out loud.

_"Thinking of you, wherever you are._

_We pray for our sorrows to end, and hope that our hearts will blend._

_Now I will step forward to realize this wish._

_And who knows:_

_starting a new journey may not be sore hard,_

_or maybe it's already begun._

_There are many worlds, but they share the same sky - _

_one sky, one destiny._

_-Kairi_"

By the time Sora finished a bright light flashed before them. They stared in awe as the light grew brighter and brighter. "Light..." Riku whispered.

"The door to the light..." Sora muttered. He stood and looked at them all. "We'll go together."

Riku nodded. "Yeah."

Ash grinned and stood, holding his hand out to Aqua. "Time to get you home," She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. She took his hand and stood. The four of them stood for a moments before walking into the light.

* * *

He was falling. He was falling through the sky, soaring past the clouds. He felt his head hit water, breaking him out of his trance. Ash kicked his legs and broke the surface, he saw Sora, Riku and Aqua surfacing as well. '_Where...?_'

"Sora! Riku!" a familiar voice shouted. They turned to see Kairi standing on the shore of Destiny Islands. Sora whooped and began swimming towards the shore. Riku followed after him at a slower pace.

"Aqua! Ash!" Ven shouted from the shore. He and Terra were waving frantically. Aqua's face slipped into a giddy smile as she swam to the shore at breakneck speed.

Ash closed his eyes and began floating on his back. It was finally over. He smiled and began making his way towards the shore. He saw Donald and Goofy tackle Sora to the ground. Riku and Mickey were reuniting. He saw Terra, Aqua and Ven in a huge group hug.

By the time he reached shore, Sora, Riku, Kairi, Donald and Goofy were all talking excitedly. While Terra, Aqua and Ven were talking, happy to see each other. Ash smiled at their reunion and decided to give them space. He needed to figure out what to do now. Ash walked across a small bridge to a small island with a low hanging tree and sat on it. He looked up to see a bunch of star-shaped fruit.

"Heya, Ash." Ash blinked and turned to see Mickey walking up to him.

"Hey, Mickey." he greeted.

"So what'cha doin'?" the mouse asked as he hopped up onto the tree.

"Trying to figure out what to do..." Ash muttered. "I mean... what about my world? My friends?"

"I'm sure your world is out there," Mickey said as he scanned the sky. "When we stopped Kingdom Hearts, we released all sorts of hearts. People's hearts... world's hearts..."

"Really?" Ash asked. He looked at the sky. The stars were just beginning to show.

"You know, each star up there represents a different world," the mouse told him. "And that one," he said triumphantly. He pointed pointed to a star on the far left. "Is your world."

Ash's eyes snapped to the mouse. "Huh?" he asked confused. "How do you know?"

"I've had to visit on occasion." Mickey explained. "When do you plan on leaving?"

"I don't know," Ash muttered. "I can't just up and leave. I have obligations."

"Your sister?"

Ash nodded. "But then again, our dad just died... I'm sure mom won't be happy to hear that..."

Mickey got a strange look on his face. He looked like he wanted to say something. Ash noticed. "What is it, Mickey?" The mouse remained silent. "Tell me."

The King sighed. "I think Ansem is still alive," he said quietly. Ash jumped.

"What?" he gasped. "How? Where?"

Mickey shook his head. "I don't know where he is," he admitted. "But just before the light became too bright, I saw him open a Dark Corridor."

"So he could be anywhere!" Ash exclaimed. Mickey nodded.

"I'll be looking for him," he said. "I'll be sure to tell you if I find anything."

Ash was torn. He wanted to go with Mickey to find his father, but he also wanted to stay with Aqua and Kairi, and see his world again. "Alright..."

Mickey patted him on the arm before hopping off. "I gotta go now, I gotta get Donald and Goofy back to the castle."

"Wait, how am I supposed to get to my world?" Ash asked.

"The Gummi Ship is programmed to follow you to whatever world you're on." Mickey told him as he walked away. Ash sighed and returned his attention to the sunset. His father might be alive! And this crazy journey was finally over. His world was safe now, as were his friends and family. '_I can't wait to see my mom and Pikachu again!'_

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts, he didn't notice anyone approaching him. He jumped when he felt several people hop up next to him. Terra sat on his left while Aqua leaned onto him from the right. Ven climbed up higher and sat near the top. Sora and Kairi sat lower down on the tree next to Riku, who leaned against it.

"It's finally over..." Sora muttered. Ash looked at them all, the relief and happiness on their faces making him smile.

"What were you doing here all by yourself?" Aqua asked him.

"Just thinking," Ash replied. "Mickey told me that my world was restored."

"Really?" Sora asked. Ash nodded.

"I'll be leaving soon," he said quietly.

"What?" Sora demanded. Ash chuckled.

"Sora, how badly did you want to see your world again?" he asked. Sora blinked.

"More than anything wh-" he looked down. "Oh..."

"I wanna see my friends and my mom..." Ash muttered.

Kairi's eyes lit up. "Our mom?" she asked. Ash nodded.

"You wanna meet her, right?"

"Of course!" Kairi said indignantly. "I barely even remember her!"

"If Kairi's going, I'm going." Sora declared. Kairi smiled at him.

"Then I guess I am, too..." Riku sighed.

Ash smiled at her and turned to Aqua. She was picking one of the star-shaped fruit from the tree.

"A papou fruit," she said. "They say that when you share it with someone, their fates will forever be intertwined."

"Aqua...?" Ash questioned. She tore the fruit in half and handed him one. Aqua fed him the piece she was holding. Ash swallowed it and fed his piece to her. She swallowed and embraced him.

"Our fates are forever intertwined..." she whispered. "I love you..." Ash held her tighter.

"I love you, too." he whispered back. They stayed like that until they heard someone clear their throat. They pulled away, blushing.

"Sorry," Aqua said. Ven's eyes lit up in remembrance.

"Aqua, you love Ash...?" he asked. Aqua nodded smiling. Ash, Terra and Sora all paled upon hearing this. They all thought the same thing. _'Please don't...'_ "Then does that mean you two have had sex?"

Aqua stared at him in shock, her face going red. "W- what?" she stammered.

"Well, they told me that when two people love each other a lot, they have sex." Ven said confused. "Isn't that right?"

Aqua smiled a disgustingly sweet smile and turned to the three boys... only to find them gone, three dust clouds taking their place.

"Get in Gummi Ship!" Terra shrieked.

"TERRA!" Aqua bellowed, chasing after them. "I'm gonna kill you guys!"

Even though he was running for his life, Ash smiled. Everything was alright. His world, his family and his friends, old and new. The sun faded away and the day ended, along with another chapter in the story of Ash Ketchum: Keyblade Master.

_¡Complete!_

* * *

**A/N: It's hard to believe I actually finished this! This is the first multi-chapter story I've finished. I'd like to thank all of my readers and reviewers. It means so much to me and I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

**Thank you Johan07, Batthan, AnimeFreak4eva378, chm01, Vandenbz, Naoto07, Yue Twili, SetoshiArenhariKai and many others! Thank you for staying with me from the beginning to the end!**

**To those of you who will never read this, because you stopped reading long ago, I'm sorry if this story wasn't what you hoped it would be.**

**Before I forget, personal thanks to SetoshiArenhariKai, for being my personal editor! Even if it was only for a few chapters, it's appreciated.**

**AshxAqua = FateIntertwine Shipping. Johan07's idea!**

**One last time: Thank you.**

**¡Hasta que encontremos otra vez! Until we meet again!**


	40. Darkness in Zero

_Darkness in Zero_

_Memories of Nothing_

_A man sat on the shore of the Dark Margin. He watched the waves calmly rolling. The full moon hung high in the sky, and yet the realm was still cloaked in unnatural darkness. However, he found it calming. His black cloak blended into the dark surroundings, making him nearly invisible. The Heartless avoided this place, so he wasn't worried. What he was worried about, was that his memories were slowly slipping away._

_He remembered children, with Key-shaped swords. They tore through the darkness that surrounded them, their light shining like a beacon. He remembered one vividly. A raven haired boy, carrying two of the breathtaking blades. His chocolate brown eyes piercing their way into his memory. His light shined like the sun. Sun... why does that sound so right? Though perhaps not in the way he was thinking..._

_Then there was the girl. Her flaming red hair sent a pang of longing through him. Not for the girl herself, good heavens, no! But for something else... or perhaps someone else... A word made its way into his mind._

_Daddy! The word haunted him. What did this mean? He grabbed his head in frustration. Why couldn't he remember? The only thing he could remember was that he had been here before. Several times in fact, but he couldn't remember the way out._

_How did he end up here? In the realm of shadow? He remembered a great moon in the form of a heart. Did that have something to do with it? Were hearts the answer?_

_No that couldn't be it... Something felt off, as though he had been down that road before. How was that possible? Wait, had he done something similar? He couldn't remember._

_Who was he? He couldn't say. A name, he needed a name! As though in answer, letters entered his mind. D. i. Z._

_DiZ? Darkness in Zero... It wasn't much, but it would have to do for now._

_"I am DiZ..." the man muttered. His thoughts wandered back towards the girl... Who was she? Or better yet, who did she remind him off? A friend? An enemy? ...A lover? Yes, that was it... But who? The man rose as an answer came to him._

_"I know not who I am, or where I came from..." DiZ muttered. "But I remember you... Delia."_

_With new insight, DiZ sat back down on the rocks. In time, he would remember... But for now, rest... The answer would come, and he would wait forever until it did._


End file.
